US authorities cleared an impending ban on new TikTok downloads shortly after President Trump told reporters on Saturday that he had given the deal new time to restructure the company with Oracle “with his blessing.”
The deal will see Oracle become TikTok’s cloud hosting provider and manage its data for US users, the companies said.
TikTok will also enter into a “business partnership” with Walmart, allowing it and Oracle to purchase up to a combined 20% stake in a “pre-IPO financing round” for a new entity called TikTok Global.
Oracle separately said it would buy a 12.5% stake in the new entity.
The Commerce Department said on Saturday that it would delay a ban on new downloads of TikTok in the United States that was scheduled to take effect on September 20 — likely to give more time to complete the deal with Oracle and Walmart.
While another US ban on new downloads of Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat starting September 20 has not changed.
In a statement to TikTok employees seen by The Information, the app’s interim president Vanessa Pappas said the company was pleased with Trump’s approval of its proposal that “resolves issues related to TikTok’s future in the United States” and TikTok said the deal would create 25,000 jobs in the United States.
The full ownership structure of the TikTok Global entity, including what TikTok’s current parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, will own, is not yet clear.
Under the Commerce Department’s new ruling, TikTok now has until September 27 to complete the deal to resolve national security concerns or be banned from US app stores.
If the deal cannot be completed by November 12, TikTok will be forced to close in the United States completely.
