ByteDance denies TikTok sale to Oracle-led consortium

TikTok

ByteDance has denied claims it has agreed to sell its US TikTok operations to a consortium led by Oracle, despite reports to the contrary in Chinese media earlier this week. According to a report by South China Morning Post, the denial comes amid mounting speculation around the future of TikTok in the US, as the September 17 divestment deadline, imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, draws closer.

A now-deleted report by GeekPark claimed ByteDance had approved a sale to an Oracle-led group, retaining a minority stake. However, ByteDance has not confirmed this, and the report has been scrubbed from Chinese platforms.

Instead, the company appears to be preparing alternative plans. According to The Information, ByteDance is working on a US-only version of TikTok, set to launch in early September, with the current global app to be shut down for US users by March 2026. A separate report by Business Insider revealed similar plans for a US-targeted version of CapCut, its popular video-editing tool.

Internal discussions are still ongoing, and ByteDance has reportedly not made any final decisions. The company has also not responded to recent requests for comment.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump last week stated that the US “pretty much” had a deal, though he acknowledged uncertainty over whether Beijing would approve it. A group comprising Oracle, Blackstone, and Andreessen Horowitz had been in advanced negotiations with ByteDance earlier this year, but talks faltered in April after the Trump administration escalated tariffs on Chinese imports.

Any sale of TikTok’s core technology would need Chinese government approval, given the export restrictions in place since 2020. These same controls derailed a previous proposed deal between ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart during Trump’s first term.

With no agreement yet in place and less than three months to the deadline, ByteDance now appears to be weighing parallel paths—either push through a sale or carve out US-specific apps to comply with potential restrictions.