TikTok : agrees to sell its US business to US investors
TikTok: According to CNN, TikTok CEO Shou Chew informed staff in a message on Thursday (local time) that the company has signed the agreement supported by US President Donald Trump to sell its US assets to a group of US investors.
The decision puts TikTok one step closer to assuring its long-term future in the US, even if the deal is still pending.
It follows a rule enacted last year that mandated the US version of the app either be banned in the US or split off from its parent firm, ByteDance, according to CNN.
On September 26, Trump issued an executive order that paved the door for the sale of TikTok’s US assets to a group of mostly American investors.
The TikTok transaction is still ongoing, but the ruling was a significant procedural step in that direction. The agreement would probably need both nations’ regulatory approvals, even though US and Chinese officials have indicated that they agree on its basis.
But during the signing ceremony, Trump claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping had approved the agreement and voiced assurance that it would be finalized.
Trump said, “I had a very good talk with President Xi,” alluding to a phone conversation between the two leaders. According to CNN, “And we talked about TikTok and other things, but we talked about TikTok and he gave us the go-ahead” for the transaction.
According to the presidential order, the transaction qualifies as a divestment, as mandated by the ban-or-sale statute that was approved last year with overwhelming bipartisan support. The app is prohibited under a US regulation that went into force in January until its parent firm, ByteDance, sells almost 80% of its US assets to non-Chinese investors. Trump has consistently postponed enforcing the legislation.
“I have determined that the proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security,” according to the directive. CNN also reports that ByteDance’s other well-known platforms, Lemon8 and CapCut, would also be affected by the agreement to transfer ownership of TikTok’s US assets.