Trump signs order allowing TikTok deal to proceed
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President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that allows a deal for the sale of TikTok's U.S. assets to move forward.
Why it matters: A transaction still isn't done, but it's closer to happening than it's ever been before.
Driving the news: The order Trump signed Thursday certifies that the deal that's been negotiated meets the requirements of a law passed by Congress last year, requiring TikTok be sold or banned.
- To allow time for negotiations to conclude, Trump also extended for 120 days an order against enforcing that ban.
What they're saying: "The points of the deal I think are great for our country," Trump said — though those deal points by and large aren't public yet.
- Vice President JD Vance, in Oval Office remarks, said the deal would value the U.S. entity at around $14 billion — about the same as Snapchat owner Snap Inc., and a small fraction of other social platforms like Facebook parent Meta or Elon Musk's X.
- But he also made clear the number wasn't final yet.
- "Ultimately the investors are going to make the determination about what they want to invest in, and what they think is a proper value," Vance said.
Catch up quick: Trump said last week there was a deal in place with China for the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to an investor group.
- Officials have said Americans would hold six of seven board seats, with a new algorithm (based on the existing TikTok one) leased from parent company ByteDance and under U.S. control.
It's still not clear what the ownership structure of the new entity will be.
- CNBC reported earlier Thursday that the primary investors would be Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi government investment vehicle MGX.
- Trump said last weekend, and again Thursday, that he expected Rupert Murdoch and Michael Dell to be part of the investor group.
What to watch: The other side.
- TikTok parent ByteDance was not part of the Oval Office ceremony, and hasn't confirmed a deal.
- Chinese officials have said only that they support companies entering into fair commercial transactions — not in and of itself an explicit confirmation that they will approve whatever's agreed.
Go deeper: TikTok will retain "Chinese characteristics" after sale, Bessent says
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
