President Donald Trump suggested over the weekend that media moguls Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could join the group of investors backing TikTok’s U.S. spinoff.
“A man named Lachlan is involved,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday. “Lachlan Murdoch … Rupert [Murdoch] is probably gonna be in the group.”
Trump also named Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell as likely participants. He did not specify whether these would be personal or corporate investments. Shortly after, Deadline reported that Fox Corp, owner of Fox News, led by CEO Lachlan Murdoch and long chaired by Rupert Murdoch, is in talks to join the investor group.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday that an agreement has been reached but not yet signed. Under the deal, TikTok’s U.S. operations would be spun off with majority American ownership, six of seven board seats held by Americans, and its algorithm controlled in the United States.
According to Bloomberg, new investors will include Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake Management, with Oracle overseeing TikTok’s safety and security. ByteDance would retain less than 20% ownership in the restructured company.
TikTok faced a looming ban in the United States after a federal bill passed last year. The app briefly went offline in January before Trump, who returned to office, repeatedly extended the sale deadline. On Friday, Trump said China’s President Xi Jinping had approved the deal, and TikTok issued a statement thanking both leaders “for their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States.”
Related: U.S. and China Reach Framework Deal on TikTok Ahead of Ban Deadline
ByteDance added it will continue working within U.S. laws “to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
