President Trump has announced he has approved a deal “in concept” for the US operations of TikTok.
“I have given the deal my blessing. If they get it done that’s great. If they don’t, that’s OK, too,” Trump told reporters as he was leaving for a campaign rally in North Carolina. “I approved the deal in concept.”
Here are some of the conditions as part of the agreement:
- The new company’s name in the US: TikTok Global.
- TikTok will donate $5 billion to be used for an education fund.
- Oracle and Walmart will control 20% of the new company, a source said.
- Oracle said it will take a 12.5% stake.
- Walmart said it has “tentatively agreed to buy 7.5% of TikTok Global.”
- Walmart would provide payments, e-commerce and other services.
- Walmart CEO Doug McMillon will become one of the five board members.
- Walmart and Oracle are planning to create 25,000 jobs.
- Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, current investors of ByteDance, are expected to get stakes in TikTok Global.
- Zoom influenced TikTok in selecting Oracle.
- Zoom had recently become a client of Oracle for its cloud business for part of its videoconferencing needs.
TikTok is happy with tonight’s proposal. It has even released a video on its social network. The video, titled “#WeAreTikTok and we are here to stay!,” is a message from Interim head Vanessa Pappas.
“The outpouring of support for TikTok has been nothing short of humbling. Thank you to each and every one of you sticking by us and finding a true community on this app. We are here for you – and we are here for the long run. That’s why we’re thrilled to share that we are working with a US tech partner to ensure that TikTok can continue to provide a home to each and every one of you – just as it does today with no change to our users here in US or around the world. We are incredibly inspired, grateful, and proud of our community, and our teams are committed to keeping the app running just as you know and love it. So continue to share your daily moments that bring us so much laughter, connectivity and joy. We are TikTok. We are on this journey together and we are just getting started. Thank you!”
The ban that was supposed to take effect tomorrow has been delayed until Sept. 27 at 11:59 pm ET. However, because the recent agreement doesn’t include WeChat (owned by Chinese company Tencent), it seems like the original ban will still continue for this specific social network.
[Sources]: Bloomberg: Trump Says He’s Approved Oracle Deal For U.S. TikTok – [Archive]; Oracle, Walmart Invest in TikTok to Gain Social Media Toehold – [Archive]; TikTok App Store Ban Delayed After Trump Approves Oracle Deal – [Archive]. TikTok: #WeAreTikTok and we are here to stay.
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