Trump’s Truth Social media deal clears SEC hurdle worth millions

Former President Donald Trump’s media company, which operates his Truth Social site, has received approval for the merger with a purpose acquisition company called Digital World Acquisition Corp., that would make the website a publicly traded entity and yield millions of dollars. 

DWAC said the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission signed off on its registration statement and that the shareholder vote date would be announced within two days to vote on the merger, according to an SEC filing on Wednesday.

“We are immensely proud of the strides we’ve taken towards advancing the Business Combination,” Eric Swider, CEO of Digital World, said in a statement included in the filing. “This achievement marks a significant milestone for us. Our sincere thanks go to our shareholders for their unwavering support. We are excited to soon share the news of the Business Combination’s approval process with them.”

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Should the merger go through, Trump would hold more than 78 million shares, which would be worth nearly $4 billion at current prices. 

Trump, who would own between 58% and 69% of the company, and other investors could earn tens of millions more shares per a provision, known as an “earnout,” tied to the stock’s performance, a filing said, The Washington Post reported. 

In a Wednesday statement, former Republican Congressman Devin Nunes said Digital World’s aim is “to accelerate our work to build a free speech highway outside the stifling stranglehold of Big Tech,” according to the Post. 

Despite the apparent victory for Trump, the merger could face resistance from Trump Media’s co-founders, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, whose investment company, United Atlantic Ventures, has threatened to block the move. 

That company sent letters to Digital World claiming its initial agreement with Trump from 2021 was still in effect and granted them the rights to appoint two directors to the board and to receive a $1 million reimbursement claim, a filing said.

Digital World has also disclosed that former CEO Patrick Orlando may hold up the deal because he wants to receive additional compensation, Reuters reported.

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Trump has 6.61 million followers on Truth Social, compared to the more than 88 million followers he had on Twitter, now known as X, when the platform suspended him. 

Trump currently has 87.4 million followers on that platform since his return.

FOX Business has reached out to Truth Social.