Donald Trump Jr., Blake Masters join board of GrabAGun as it prepares to go public
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Donald Trump Jr. speaks during a "Save America Rally" on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A slew of conservative politicians and gun activists, including Donald Trump Jr., and investor Blake Masters, are joining the board of GrabAGun, a digital firearms retailer that plans to go public this summer.
Why it matters: The public markets have typically been unfriendly to gun retailers. GrabAGun and its backers believe a new administration could present an opportunity to tap into investor interest in the gun industry.
State of play: GrabAGun is merging with Colombier Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by Omeed Malik, who is known for backing businesses with conservative values.
- Malik is an investor in Tucker Carlson's media company, as well as newsletter company Substack, through his private fund 1789 Capital. Trump Jr. joined 1789 Capital last year.
- Malik's first SPAC, Colombier Acquisition Corp. I, took conservative retail and fintech company PublicSquare public in 2023.
Zoom in: In a regulatory filing, a copy of which was posted to Colombier's website, the company listed five prospective board members: Trump Jr., Masters, former National Rifle Association executive director Chris Cox, Second Amendment attorney and social media personality Colion Noir, and Dusty Wunderlich, an executive and board member at PublicSquare.
- They will join GrabAGun CEO Marc Nemati, COO Matt Vittitow and CFO Justin Hilty on the company's board.
Between the lines: GrabAGun's fastest-growing cohort is Gen Z and millenials, according to the filing. As a digital retailer, it hopes to be able to tap into a growing audience of young gun owners better than traditional manufacturers, which rely heavily on in-store sales.
The big picture: GrabAGun's IPO reflects a broader effort by conservatives to create their own products, financial systems and tech infrastructure to combat what they believe is broader corporate leftism.
- Conservatives in recent years have built their own video platforms, cloud storage companies and book publishing arms as a way to ensure conservative businesses won't be censored by mainstream alternatives that may be skittish around their ideals.
- Several of those companies are increasingly finding friendlier reception from traditional investors and Wall Street. Today Rumble, Truth Social and PublicSquare all trade publicly on U.S. markets.
What to watch: Malik, a source said, is eyeing more investments in the finance space, such as a commercial bank or insurance company, to continue to support his portfolio of conservative upstarts.
- Many payment vendors, for example, don't allow the facilitation of gun sales through their platforms.
Go deeper: Exclusive: Omeed Malik's second SPAC upsized again
