There are 653 SPACs left in the US after the boom, Bloomberg reports. Only one of them still trades at the kind of frothy levels that was common during the height of the go-go days: Digital World Acquisition.
Digital World is the Miami-based SPAC that’s planning to merge with Donald Trump’s media venture, and the 67% premium that it trades at is above every other blank-check company in the market today, a reminder of just how powerful Trump’s grip remains on his base. Scores of retail investors loyal to the ex-president make up a large chunk of the holders of Digital World’s stock and, regardless of the mounting challenges the merger faces (both the SEC and Justice Department have launched probes), they’re not selling.
While DWAC sponsors have until Dec. 8 to get a merger extension approved — and a postposed vote is scheduled for next week to move the deadline back even further — ideological holders and Trump fans may not understand SPAC rules, Bloomberg noted. The SPAC, for example, has struggled to reach the 65% threshold of shares outstanding to support a deadline extension, which is why the vote has been pushed back several times.
The SPAC’s CEO, Patrick Orlando, in interviews has spoken of the difficulty in getting retail investors to vote on proxy matters such as a deadline extension to complete a deal. Read more.
