The Trump administration has been discussing a potential TikTok deal over the weekend, with President Donald Trump revealing on Fox News that Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are likely to be part of the agreement.
The Trump administration has been talking up a potential TikTok deal this weekend, with President Donald Trump telling Fox News on Sunday that Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are “probably” going to be involved.
Trump said, “A man named Lachlan is involved. Lachlan Murdoch … Rupert [Murdoch] is probably gonna be in the group, I think they’re going to be in the group.”
The president also mentioned that Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell are likely to play a role in the deal.
Following Trump’s comments, Deadline reported that Fox Corp, the owner of Fox News run by CEO Lachlan Murdoch and long led by chairman emeritus Rupert, is in talks to join the investor group supporting TikTok’s U.S. spinoff from ByteDance.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on Fox News and stated that an agreement has been reached but not signed, which would result in TikTok’s U.S. operations being spun out under majority American ownership.
Americans are expected to hold six out of seven board seats in the restructured TikTok, and the app’s algorithm will be U.S.-controlled, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg also reported that new investors in TikTok will include Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and private equity firm Silver Lake Management, with Oracle responsible for the app’s security and safety. ByteDance would reportedly own less than 20% of the spun-off company.
A federal bill passed last year was set to ban TikTok in January, shortly before Trump returned to office. The app briefly went dark in the United States before Trump extended the deadline for ByteDance to sell the app to new owners. Trump mentioned that China’s President Xi Jinping had approved the deal, and TikTok issued a statement thanking Xi and Trump for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States.
ByteDance stated that they will work within the laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.
This post and headline have been updated with Trump’s comments about Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.
