Fox Corp., under the leadership of chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch, is currently in discussions to acquire a stake in the separated TikTok U.S. entity. President Donald Trump recently disclosed the involvement of the Murdochs in the TikTok deal, as part of the ongoing efforts by his administration to bring TikTok’s ownership structure in line with U.S. regulations. In an interview on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing,” Trump mentioned that Lachlan Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, are likely to be part of the group of investors. Additionally, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell are also reportedly involved in the negotiations.
The specifics of the deal, including the value and the percentage stake each investor would hold, remain undisclosed. However, Axios reported that Trump is expected to sign an executive order later in the week to approve the proposed deal. The Trump administration is looking to collect a significant fee from TikTok’s new U.S. investors, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The ownership structure of TikTok U.S. is crucial due to a U.S. law enacted in January 2025, which prohibits American companies from hosting or distributing TikTok as long as it remains under the control of Chinese parent company ByteDance. The new ownership arrangement would bring ByteDance’s ownership in TikTok U.S. below the 20% threshold specified by the law.
Both ByteDance and TikTok have refrained from commenting on the specifics of the investment structure for TikTok U.S. or its technical operations. However, ByteDance expressed gratitude to Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump for their efforts to ensure TikTok’s availability in the United States. It is unclear whether Fox Corp. would treat its stake in TikTok U.S. as a passive investment or explore integration possibilities with its existing assets, such as the free streaming service Tubi.
The ownership consortium for TikTok U.S. is expected to include Oracle, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and current ByteDance investors like Susquehanna International, KKR, and General Atlantic. The new company would have a U.S.-dominated board, with a member designated by the U.S. government. Oracle currently provides computing and data management services for TikTok in the U.S.
As per the Trump administration’s proposal, ByteDance would license the TikTok content-recommendation algorithm to the U.S. entity, operating it separately from the Chinese-controlled version. The deal is still in the process of being finalized, with Trump delaying enforcement of the divest-or-ban law until December 16 to facilitate the completion of the transaction. This development marks a significant step towards resolving the national security concerns associated with TikTok’s ownership structure.
