Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, along with Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, are poised to become key investors in TikTok as part of a US-led effort to separate the app from Chinese ownership, according to President Donald Trump.

The White House has been negotiating a spin-off deal designed to bring TikTok under American control amid ongoing national security concerns. Trump said Fox Corp, chaired by Lachlan Murdoch who also controls News Corp and the Nova Radio network, are among the companies in discussions to take a stake, though the size of its potential investment is unclear.

The Financial Times reported that Dell has been engaged in talks for months and expects an agreement soon.

Trump also confirmed Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison will join the consortium, which he said will raise a “tremendous amount of money,” alongside other unnamed backers.

It is not yet clear whether the new deal will include provisions to prevent Chinese state-backed companies from developing rival social media platforms.

The inclusion of the Murdochs — whose global media holdings include Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and News Corp Australia — would add another conservative-leaning influence to the ownership of a major social media platform.

Trump, speaking to Fox News, said: “I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved … and Rupert is probably going to be in the group.”

The development comes despite Trump’s public clashes with the Murdochs, including a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story he claims was false. Earlier this month, Rupert Murdoch finalized an agreement handing control of his media empire to Lachlan.

TikTok’s future in the US has been uncertain since Congress passed legislation requiring parent company ByteDance to divest its American operations. A proposed deal earlier this year involving private equity groups Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International stalled after Trump escalated tariffs on Chinese goods.

With trade talks resuming, negotiations have been revived. Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next month, followed by a summit in China early next year — their first face-to-face meeting since 2019.

Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are understood to have convinced Beijing to separate TikTok discussions from broader trade disputes, helping to advance the spin-off.

The deal would reshape the landscape of US social media ownership, where Elon Musk controls X, the parent of Twitter, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta oversees Facebook and Instagram.

Fox Corp, which reported $5.3 billion in cash reserves at the end of June, has signaled it is actively exploring new opportunities. “We’re always looking at opportunities,” Lachlan Murdoch told analysts last month.