Trump Media Is Set To Go Public, It Could Offer A Lifeline To Former President In Need Of Cash

On Friday, investors approved a deal that will make Trush Social owner Trump Media a publicly traded company. The decision will clear hurdles for a delayed merger that will generate billions of dollars for Donald Trump.

A majority of shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corporation voted in favor of a deal to merge with Trump Media, indicating the deal could close as soon as next week.

The future company will be called Trump Media & Technology Group. It will trade under the name DJT, the former president’s initials. The company will maintain control over Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.

The decision came after years of legal and regulatory obstacles. Trump will own a dominant stake in the new company, holding shares worth more than $3 billion.

According to experts, however, there are still multiple financial and legal reasons why the deal will fail to solve Trump’s current cash crunch.

“President Trump won’t be able to monetize that stake right away,” said Matthew Kennedy, senior initial public offering market strategist at Renaissance Capital.

The agreement calls for Trump to own roughly 79 million shares of the new company, though the gains will be difficult for him to translate into cash. Experts claim the market is overvaluing Trump Media based on the company’s fundamentals, meaning he would face challenges dumping the stock or pledging it as collateral.

Additionally, Trush Social appears to be on the decline, as the number of monthly active users on iOS and Android is down 39% year-over-year. Despite this reality, Trump Media is being valued at more than $6 billion on a fully diluted basis.

There are also lock-up restrictions contained in an amended charter that reportedly includes Trump.

Experts say that banks would likely not accept Trump’s shares as collateral for a bond needed in his business fraud case.

Article by Ava Lombardi