Digital World Acquisition, the SPAC aiming to take former President Donald Trump’s tech and social-media platform public, has surged 165% in 2024 as federal regulators signed off last month on the proposed merger with Trump Media & Technology Group.
DWAC plans to take Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) public in a reverse merger. Trump Media is the parent of the conservative social-media platform Truth Social. If the deal closes, the combined company is likely to trade on the Nasdaq under a ticker such as TMTG, reports Investor’s Business Daily.
Based on current trading, a completed merger could also deliver a windfall of more than $3 billion to the former president, who controls a majority of Trump Media. Still, his shares would be subject to a six-month lockup.
Truth Social launched after Twitter, now X, shut down Trump’s account following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In October 2021, TMTG and DWAC announced their plan to merge. That merger has been delayed for years amid federal investigations that resulted in an $18 million fine against the SPAC for what the SEC deemed “misleading investors.” The regualtor determined that Digital World and Trump Media discussed a deal before the SPAC went public, which is illegal. However, the fine would only be paid if the merger is completed. Read more.
