Topline
Former President Donald Trump's new media company said Saturday that it has lined up $1 billion in funding from a “diverse group” of institutional investors contingent on the consummation of its planned merger with the blank check company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Former President Donald Trump (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which aims to launch a social media platform, did not share the names of the investors in the private investment in public equity transaction, or PIPE, which is unusual.
Reports surfaced earlier this week that Trump’s company was seeking to raise $1 billion in a PIPE deal that would value the company at around $3 billion—more than three times the $875 million valuation ascribed to it in the merger with DWAC that was announced in October.
In October, TMTG said it would launch a beta version of its social media platform in November, a goal which it appears to have missed, and roll out a complete version next year.
Key Background
Shares of DWAC soared 550% in the week after the merger to a height of $94.20, but the stock has given up much of its initial gains and recently has been trading in the $40s. The PIPE and the merger with DWAC, which raised $293 million when it listed, are expected to leave Trump’s company with proceeds of about $1.25 billion, according to Saturday’s statement. TMTG will use the money to build out a social media platform called TRUTH Social that it says “will not discriminate on the basis of political ideology” and will “fight back against the tyranny of Big Tech.” Trump is hoping to use it to re-establish the social media presence he lost when he was banned from major social media platforms for spreading misinformation about election fraud after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Further Reading
Trump’s Media Company to Get $1 Billion in Investment From SPAC (Bloomberg)
Trump’s New Social Media Business Is Worth An Estimated $10 Billion (Forbes)
