TikTok’s Oracle, Walmart Deal Gets Trump ‘Blessing’ Despite China’s ByteDance Retaining 80%

UPDATED: The U.S. has given tentative approval to a deal that will keep TikTok alive in the country.

“I have given the deal my blessing,” said President Donald Trump. “I approve the deal in concept.”

The US Commerce Department was set to restrict access to TikTok starting Sunday with a ban on new downloads. On Nov. 12th it said it would prohibit any company from offering internet hosting or content delivery networks to TikTok, effectively shutting it down in the U.S.

Over the weekend, a U.S. judge ordered that a similar ban on WeChat not move forward, at least for now.

A New Company: TikTok Global

Under the proposed deal, U.S. tech giant Oracle and Walmart will form a new company with ByteDance called TikTok Global, headquartered in the U.S.

This appears to satisfy White House concerns over the security of American user data, even though China’s ByteDance will still have a majority 80% stake in the new company and leave U.S. based Oracle and Walmart as minority shareholders.

The new company said it will hold a small round of pre-IPO financing.

MORE: US Bans TikTok, WeChat Downloads Sunday, Full Ban Nov. 12, TikTokers React [VIDEO]

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