Breitbart News recently reported that President Trump gave preliminary approval to a deal in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok in the United States, allowing the app to continue to operate within the country.
Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for North Carolina, President Trump stated: “I have given the deal my blessing — if they get it done that’s great, if they don’t that’s okay too. I approved the deal in concept.”
So what does the deal involve?
1: The creation of TikTok Global — a U.S. based company
As part of the deal, a new U.S.-based company named TikTok Global will be formed with its five-person board featuring four Americans. Oracle and Walmart will own 20 percent of TikTok Global with Oracle holding 12.5 percent of the company and Walmart holding 7.5 percent. The company’s also stated that they plan for TikTok Global to announce an IPO in less than one year.
2: Job creation and tax revenue
Oracle and Walmart have claimed that the formation of TikTok Global will generate 25,000 new jobs in the U.S and generate $5 billion in tax revenue.
ByteDance appears to be disputing claims that TikTok Global will be directed by Americans and that the company will pay a $5 billion fee to the U.S. government. In a blog post entitled “clarifying groundless rumors about TikTok,” ByteDance contest President Trump’s assertion that the TikTok will be paying $5 billion to the U.S. government.
ByteDance stated that the figure was an estimate of the amount of taxes TikTok Global would pay over several years if the business was successful. ByteDance is currently seeking a valuation of $60 billion for TikTok Global in which ByteDance may end up owning as much as 80 percent after investments from Oracle and Walmart.
3: TikTok’s U.S. audience has reached 100 million and Growing
TikTok’s monthly active users in the U.S. has now surpassed 100 million users, a massive increase from just 11 million users in 2018. TikTok has a global monthly active user count of 689 million, meaning that U.S. users account for approximately 14.5 percent of TikTok’s userbase…
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