(ProsperNews.net) – The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a merger of Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform and Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC). SEC regulators spent two years investigating the companies before approving the $10 billion deal. Both firms belong to the Trump Media and Technology Group, and SEC filings reveal that former President Trump will own $79 million in shares, trading at $45-$47 per share.
Mr. Trump has complete control of DWAC, and part of the new agreement states that he will remain in authority irrespective of what happens in the upcoming legal and political battles he faces. Commentators describe the deal as a “win” for Donald Trump, and a potential financial windfall as courts impose fines worth hundreds of millions on the former President. The Washington Post said Trump’s shares in the new merger, at current prices, are worth close to $4 billion, but experts say this is merely “paper” money because, at present, those shares cannot be sold due to a “lockup” period that prevents shares sales for six months.
Former President Trump established Truth Social as an alternative to Twitter and Facebook, both of which banned him from their platform. The new site was launched in February 2022 but has not been without its problems. The app was initially banned from Google Play, but that decision was reversed in October 2022, and in early 2023, it was falling behind other platforms in terms of user numbers. In March last year, it ranked 101 in Apple App Stores and behind Gab in user rankings at 203.
When billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, he reactivated Trump’s account, but the former President snubbed the gesture and said he would not return. Despite citing Twitter as the reason he won the 2016 election, Mr. Trump resisted calls to revive his account, which experts say is likely a financial decision. Truth Social will lose value if Trump does not exclusively post there, said Josh Tucker, a political professor at NYU.
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