Wall Street is quickly buzzing over the possibility of former President Donald Trump’s new social media company going public.
About a year ago, the company behind the conservative social media app Truth Social agreed to sell its stock to the public through a deal with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a little-known SPAC, or special purpose acquisition. The company at the time, Digital World, had 11 months to complete the deal, but closing the deal has proven more difficult than expected.
The al World acquisition will already be a wild ride for both SPAC and TMTG, which runs Trump’s Truth Social and is led by California Republican Devin Nunes, who left Congress in January to become the company’s CEO.
Since the 2021 deal, the digital world acquisition has seen a meme-stock-like movement in the market, with retail investors buying up shares who have backed the former president’s efforts to set up his own version of Twitter. The deal has also been questioned by various government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Separately, new questions will arise about what’s next for the former president’s venture, including who – if anyone – is a supporter of TMTG and Truth Social.
Launched six months ago, Truth Social has largely failed to generate the kind of excitement conservatives had hoped for when Trump’s team unveiled the app. With the seller, the U.S. The company has faced several other issues, including reported disputes and standoffs with the Patent and Trademark Office and Google. But there are reasons for optimism, including a spike in app downloads in the weeks since the FBI discovered Mar-a-Lago.
Trump seems unconcerned, writing in a Sept. 3 post on Truth Social, “I don’t need financing, ‘I’m really rich!’ Private company anyone???”
“Truth Social continues to grow rapidly, driven by extraordinary user engagement and the recent launch of advertising on the platform,” a TMTG spokesperson said in a statement to POLITICO. “TMTG will continue to cooperate with all stakeholders regarding its planned merger, and is hopeful that the SEC staff will promptly complete its review without political interference.”
The Digital World acquisition may have more levers to finalize the deal. Executives can extend the SPAC’s term by another six months on their own, according to Reuters, which previously reported that votes in favor of the extension were well below the required threshold.
Investors do not seem optimistic about the deal’s prospects. On Tuesday, shares in Digital World Acquisitions fell 21 percent. The stock pared some losses but still ended the day down 11 percent.
A spokesperson for Digital World Acquisition did not respond to a request for comment.