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Donald Trump to make $3.4bn


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Donald Trump to make $3.4bn if shareholders back plan to float Trump Media

Ex-US president planning to list Trump Media & Technology Group if merger with special purpose acquisition company goes ahead

 
Dan Milmo Global technology editor
Thu 21 Mar 2024 11.24 EDT
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Donald Trump’s wealth is set to increase by about $3.4bn (£2.7bn) if a shareholder vote on Friday paves the way for the float of his Trump Media business.

The former US president is preparing to list Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social tech platform, via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or Spac.

 

The Spac, called Digital World Acquisition, has scheduled a vote on the merger with Trump Media for Friday. However, there are complications around the planned vote after Digital World sued sponsor ARC Global Investments, which is trying to delay the deal, to back the merger.

If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.

Trump’s finances are under pressure as he prepares to contest the US presidency with the incumbent, Joe Biden, for a second time. Last month Trump was formally ordered by a New York judge to pay $454m following a civil fraud case, in which the former president was found to have manipulated the value of his properties to obtain advantageous loan and insurance rates.

Trump has described the case as a “witch-hunt”, has denied all wrongdoing and intends to appeal against the ruling. Monday is also the deadline for him to obtain a bond against his assets guaranteeing payment of the $454m. However, this week his lawyers said it was “a practical impossibility” to obtain the bond after 30 surety companies turned him down.

Spacs raise money via a stock market flotation and then buy or merge with an existing company – in this case Trump Media. The newly combined company will have a stock market ticker comprising Trump’s initials, DJT.

Trump would own just under 79m shares in the company. Based on Digital World’s closing share price of $42.90 on Wednesday, the former president’s stake in the post-merger business would be worth about $3.4bn. Trump’s potential windfall is dependent on Trump Media maintaining its price post-flotation despite a modest financial performance. Last year a securities filing revealed that Trump Media had lost $31.6m since its launch in 2021, with sales of less than $5m.

Trump maintains he is worth several billion dollars. Last year he testified he had about $400m in cash, as well as further wealth tied up in properties and other investments.

Shares in Digital World have climbed 145% this year, reflecting its status as a so-called meme stock, the term for an equity that is boosted via internet memes – in Digital World’s case, posted on forums like Truth Social and Reddit – encouraging non-professional investors to buy into it.

Julian Klymochko, the chief executive of Accelerate Financial Technologies, which has a Spac-focused fund, said: “Digital World Spac’s trading is 100% influenced by the probability of Trump winning the election. It surged in January when Ron DeSantis threw in the towel.” Referring to its valuation, he said: “DWAC is not a traditional stock based on fundamentals, but a meme stock used for betting on whether Trump gets elected.”

The merger document contains a standard provision barring “founder share” owners like Trump from selling their stock until six months after the completion of the deal – a clause designed to prevent a glut of shares hitting the market and suppressing their price in after a listing debut.

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Trump still can't get any cash if the deal goes through for 6 months after it.

He's the world's poorest billionaire.

 

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God Bless the GOAT 🐐,...:thumbsup: Hope he makes a fortune and the merger is passed tomorrow.   May not help his immediate issues but he'll be fine....NEVER SURRENDER! 

MAGA 24 ! :bc:

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4 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Wow another thread turned into Viper washing Trumps balls.

And you sucking up the slurp from Biden....:lmao:... And defending him any chance you get

1708139356183.jpg

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25 minutes ago, ViperGTS/Z1 said:

God Bless the GOAT 🐐,...:thumbsup: Hope he makes a fortune and the merger is passed tomorrow.   May not help his immediate issues but he'll be fine....NEVER SURRENDER! 

MAGA 24 ! :bc:

Maybe he can afford to buy back his assets :lol: 

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14 minutes ago, ViperGTS/Z1 said:

And you sucking up the slurp from Biden....:lmao:... And defending him any chance you get

1708139356183.jpg

I've never defended Biden. So there's that.

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1 hour ago, Steve753 said:

Trump still can't get any cash if the deal goes through for 6 months after it.

He's the world's poorest billionaire.

 

You know that’s how it works hey 

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21 minutes ago, Rod said:

You know that’s how it works hey 

It's in the article hey.

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30 minutes ago, SSFB said:

That’s like half of Ray Epp’s Antifa salary. 

did you see the recent video unleashed of him protesting in front of the white house the night Trump was hiding in the bunker? 

220px-Al_Jolson_in_Mammy.jpg

 

he does a better blackface than Robert Downey Jr.  :thumbsup:

 

 

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  • Trying to pay the bills, lol



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