Trump's Truth Social is going public after winning DWAC merger vote
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Truth Social, the Twitter clone launched in 2022 by former President Trump, will become a publicly traded company by as early as next week.
Driving the news: Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, on Friday approved a merger with Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group.
Why it matters: The vote effectively adds billions of dollars to Trump's net worth, although he's currently not allowed to sell any shares for at least six months.
- As Axios reported earlier today, this ends a multiyear saga that's included civil lawsuits, criminal lawsuits, closing extensions and vote postponements.
The intrigue: DWAC earlier this week sued to force its former CEO Patrick Orlando to vote his 14.77% shareholding in favor of the merger, despite an ongoing compensation dispute.
- Orlando was on the shareholder vote call, but it's unclear how he voted. DWAC only needed majority shareholder approval.
By the numbers: TMTG reported a $49 million net loss on $3.38 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2023.
Look ahead: DWAC will effectively cease to exist, as happens with blank-check mergers.
- Instead, TMTG will be listed on the Nasdaq with a board of directors that includes Donald Trump Jr. and several former members of the Trump White House.
- That board could waive Trump's six-month share lockup agreement, although TMTG stock could sink fast if Trump begins to sell. There also are market demand questions, as DWAC shares began falling on Friday after the vote results were disclosed.
- Former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) will serve as TMTG's CEO.
