With a $454 million civil fraud judgment looming over former President Donald Trump, the leading 2024 presidential candidate could be looking at a multi-billion-dollar windfall as his social media company, Truth Social, aims to go public.
Shareholders are expected to vote Friday on a merger to take the platform public, The Wall Street Journal reported. The social media company will likely merge with Digital World Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which Truth Social could then replace on the stock market with the ticker DJT, Trump’s initials. Trump’s stake in the public company would be around 60%, or $3.5 billion at its current value.
Digital World Acquisition’s shares have skyrocketed since January, moving up from around $17 to more than $42, where it currently stands. The shell company has turned into a “meme stock” for Trump supporters, which has helped boost Truth Social’s value to $6 billion, according to WSJ. If shareholders approve the deal on Friday, the social media company could go public as soon as next week, but that wouldn’t result in an immediate windfall for Trump. The former president would have to hold his shares for six months before he could sell any of them unless Digital World Acquisition waives its agreement, The Washington Post reported. But if the agreement were waived, the potential of the company’s largest stockholder dumping his holdings could tank the stock price.
Even with the current valuation of $6 billion, some remain skeptical about Trump’s chances to rake in billions. University of Florida Finance Professor Jay Ritter told the Post that the current value of the merged company doesn’t line up with the actual performance of the company, Trump Media.
Ritter called Trump Media “a money-losing company that generates less than $5 million per year,” adding that Digital World Acquisition appears to be “a classic meme stock, whose price is totally unrelated to the underlying fundamentals.”
Trump was fined last month by Judge Arthur Engoron, siding with New York Attorney General Letitia James who charged that the former president inflated his net worth and misled lenders. Engoron ordered Trump to dish up $350 million, which increased to $454 million, including interest. Trump’s co-defendants were also fined in the judgment, raising the combined amount that Trump and his fellow defendants owed to more than $464 million.
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The former president’s lawyers said earlier this week that securing bond for the massive fine is “a practical impossibility,” explaining that their client approached “about 30 surety companies through 4 different companies.” Attorney General James, a Democrat, has said that she will seize the former president’s properties if he cannot come up with the money to pay the fine.
The Wall Street Journal reported that it isn’t clear if insurers that would back Trump’s bond would accept shares of the merged company.