Donald Trump values his nascent media company at less than $30 million, a stark discount to the more than $1 billion valuation implied by investors who piled into the SPAC that’s hoping to bring the firm public.
The former president said Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., which is going public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition, is worth $5 million to $25 million, according to a financial disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission, Bloomberg reports.
That leaves a wide gap with what SPAC traders are currently paying for Digital World even after a roller-coaster ride for the share price since the tie-up was announced in October 2021. It also may suggest the potential downside risk still facing retail investors should the deal fall through as the companies themselves have warned in filings that investigations by regulators could derail the planned merger.
“This massive discrepancy is because one is a very conservative estimate made for the Federal Election Commission and one is a multiple of sales” that compares it to companies like Twitter, says Michael Broudo, an event-driven equities analyst at Oppenheimer. “There’s a very loyal retail contingent that’s either indifferent to the downside if the deal collapses, or is willing to take the risk.” Read more.
