TikTok Sale to U.S. Investors could Be Finalized as Early as Wednesday, Key Negotiator Says
WASHINGTON – A deal to finalize the sale of TikTok to a group of U.S.investors could be completed as soon as Wednesday, Oct. 30, according to Scott Bessent, a key negotiator involved in the agreement. The potential resolution comes after years of political and legal battles over the popular short-form video app and its ties to Chinese ownership.
Bessent, speaking Tuesday, indicated the remaining hurdles are primarily related to finalizing legal documentation and securing final approvals. The proposed deal aims to address national security concerns raised by U.S. officials while allowing TikTok to continue operating within the country.
The agreement,initially brokered during the Trump governance and continued under President Biden,would spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new entity with majority American ownership. Oracle, a U.S.-based technology firm, is slated to serve as tiktok’s security provider for its American operations. The full ownership portfolio was expected to come together by the start of 2026, but completion could now occur considerably sooner.
Concerns about TikTok’s potential national security risks stem from its parent company, ByteDance, being based in Beijing. U.S. officials have expressed fears that ByteDance could be compelled to share U.S. user data with the Chinese government. TikTok has consistently denied these claims.
The path to a potential sale has been fraught with challenges. In January, the platform briefly went “dark” as ByteDance did not meet a federal deadline to divest the platform, following legislation signed into law by President Biden in 2024. As then, Trump signed four executive orders extending the deadline for a sale.
Originally, Trump valued the U.S. assets of TikTok at $14 billion in a September 25 executive order, days after the White House announced a preliminary deal. The current status of that valuation remains unclear as the final agreement nears completion.