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Trump TikTok
President Trump hopes he can save TikTok (Jaap Arriens/Getty Images)
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TikTok US is worth only $14 billion, according to the Trump-backed deal

Charting how that stacks up against the rest of the social media landscape suggests Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX got a pretty sweet deal.

Hyunsoo Rim

So, we finally have a TikTok US deal, as President Trump signed an executive order to push forward an agreement requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations.

But rather than settling every question, the price tag is raising more of them, with some analysts calling it “the most undervalued tech acquisition of the decade” or a “daylight robbery.”

The deal would create a new US-based joint venture, majority-owned by American investors. Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX are slated to hold 45% of the company — split roughly 15% each — according to CNBC. Meanwhile, ByteDance’s stake will be capped at 19.9% to comply with national security rules, with the remaining 35% in the hands of new investors and existing ByteDance backers, including General Atlantic, Susquehanna, and Sequoia.

So, what is the world’s most addictive app, which counts more than 180 million active users in the US, worth? Some $14 billion, per Vice President JD Vance — far below earlier projections of $40 billion to $50 billion.

Though not an apples-to-apples comparison — as these other sites have global user bases — TikTok US would be by far the cheapest among its peers, whose latest valuations all easily top $14 billion.

TikTok
Sherwood News

The discount stands out even more when measured against sales: Snap trades at 2.5x, Pinterest at 5.9x, and Reddit at 25.3x their trailing 12-month revenues, while TikTok US is priced at roughly 1x its estimated annual US revenues of $10 billion to $20 billion.

Thursday’s order gives 120 days to close — the fifth deadline extension since the divest-or-ban law took effect — now putting it at January 2026. Trump said he had received Chinese President Xi Jinping’s personal approval, though Beijing has yet to publicly confirm.

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Report: OpenAI won’t pay a dime in cash for its 3-year licensing deal for Disney IP

More financial details behind the landmark deal that will grant OpenAI three years of access to Disney intellectual property are coming out, and they’re pretty surprising.

The deal will reportedly see OpenAI pay zero dollars in licensing fees, instead compensating Disney in stock warrants. It was previously reported that Disney would invest $1 billion into OpenAI as part of the agreement.

It’s very abnormal for Disney to grant anyone access to its massive IP library without a cash payment, and the entertainment juggernaut has been known to strike down even crocheted Etsy Yodas for infringing on its turf. In its fiscal year 2025, Disney booked more than $10 billion in revenue from licensing fees across merchandising, television, and theatrical distribution.

It’s very abnormal for Disney to grant anyone access to its massive IP library without a cash payment, and the entertainment juggernaut has been known to strike down even crocheted Etsy Yodas for infringing on its turf. In its fiscal year 2025, Disney booked more than $10 billion in revenue from licensing fees across merchandising, television, and theatrical distribution.

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Ford says it will take $19.5 billion in charges in a massive EV write-down

The EV business has marked a long stretch of losing for Ford, and today the automaker announced it will take $19.5 billion in charges tied, for the most part, to its EV division.

Ford said it’s launching a battery energy storage business, leveraging battery plants in Kentucky and Michigan to “provide solutions for energy infrastructure and growing data center demand.”

According to Ford, the changes will drive Ford’s electrified division to profitability by 2029. The company will stop making its electric F-150, the Lightning, and instead shift to an “extended-range electric vehicle” that includes a gas-powered generator.

The Detroit automaker also raised its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes outlook to “about $7 billion” from a range of $6 billion to $6.5 billion.

Ford’s write-down is one of the largest taken by a company as legacy automakers scale back on EVs, giving EV-only automakers a market share boost.

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