TikTok owner signs deal to sell US business

TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with US and global investors to sell the majority of its business in America, TikTok's boss told employees on Thursday.

Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

The deal, which is set to close on 22 January, would end years of efforts by Washington to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.

The deal is ​line with one unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.