State-backed Emirati tech investor MGX is reportedly set to acquire a 15 percent stake in TikTok’s US operations, in a deal facilitated by the White House.
MGX, chaired by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will join Oracle Corp. and Silver Lake as co-investors. Each party is expected to hold an equal share in the restructured business, Bloomberg reported. The arrangement would value TikTok’s US unit at $14 billion.
The move follows an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump, giving the companies 120 days to finalise the deal. Under the proposed plan, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, Bytedance, would maintain a 19.9 percent stake.
It remains uncertain whether Beijing will approve the transaction, as China has not yet issued an official response.
Trump said on Thursday that he had a “good talk” with President Xi Jinping and noted that the Chinese leader had “given us the go-ahead.”
During a signing ceremony at the White House, Trump described the US version of TikTok as being managed by “highly sophisticated” investors.
MGX has not yet commented on the reports.
TikTok reported more than 170 million active US users as of January, making it its largest market out of a global audience estimated at 1.6 billion by DataReportal. Statista ranks it as the world’s fifth most-used social media platform.
However, last year concerns over national security put the future of TikTok’s US operations in doubt, amid fears that user data could be shared with the Chinese government. This led to plans for the app to be sold or potentially shut down under legislation signed by former President Joe Biden.
One of MGX’s founding companies, Abu Dhabi-based AI developer G42, purchased a $100 million stake in Bytedance in March 2023 but later divested it due to UAE efforts to gain access to US semiconductors, according to reports.
Privately held Bytedance, owner of the Chinese app Douyin and the world’s largest social media platform by revenue, valued itself at $330 billion for an employee share buyback in late August.
