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 after a listing debut.
