The Abu Dhabi royal family is set to invest in TikTok’s US operations. This comes after a deal, signed by Donald Trump, values the platform at $14 billion. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan will lead this investment through his fund, MGX, which will acquire a 15% stake and secure a board seat once TikTok US is officially separated from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
With this agreement, American investors, including tech giants Oracle and Silver Lake, will control about 45% of TikTok US. Overall, US stakeholders will hold more than 65% of the company, ensuring it’s primarily American-owned. Trump highlighted that this shift aims to boost data security for American users, stating, “This is going to be American-operated all the way.”
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will still maintain a 19.9% stake. The approval from the Chinese government for this deal remains uncertain, although Trump mentioned having a positive conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping about it.
JD Vance, the U.S. Vice President, noted the deal also addresses Americans’ data privacy concerns. He asserted that users can now enjoy TikTok with greater confidence, as their data will be more secure.
Interestingly, the $14 billion valuation for TikTok US is significantly lower than ByteDance’s overall worth, which stands at around $330 billion. For context, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, holds a market value of approximately $1.8 trillion. This highlights the ongoing challenges TikTok faces, especially given past scrutiny over user data and privacy.
The future of TikTok in the U.S. was uncertain for some time, particularly after Congress passed a law last year requiring ByteDance to sell its American operations. This history adds to the significance of the current investment and ownership shift.
As user reactions on social media indicate, many people are hopeful that this deal will lead to better data practices on the app, which has faced criticism for its data collection methods. The dynamics of international business and personal data security continue to evolve, and this investment marks a notable chapter in that story.
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