Former President Donald Trump’s newly merged social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG), is set to commence trading on Tuesday under the stock ticker symbol DJT, as stated in a recent regulatory filing.
The merger brings together Trump’s company with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), forming TMTG, which will be listed on the NASDAQ market.The completion of the merger was confirmed on Monday following the approval by a majority of DWAC shareholders on Friday, as reported in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
DWAC’s stock experienced a notable surge of over 30% on Monday, attributed to an appeals court’s decision to temporarily halt a civil business fraud judgment against Trump for ten days. This decision also resulted in a significant reduction in the appeal bond required to extend the pause. The increase in share price effectively offset the prior decline experienced by DWAC’s stock after the merger approval on Friday.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, holds a stake of at least 58% in the company, valued at $3 billion or more based on Monday’s share price. However, due to existing regulations, Trump is prohibited from selling shares for a period of six months. Devin Nunes will remain CEO of Trump Media, along with the current management team who had overseen the operations of the private company prior to its merger with the publicly traded DWAC.
In a statement, Nunes expressed the company’s commitment to its vision of challenging Big Tech censorship and reclaiming the internet. He emphasized their dedication to providing a platform for free expression and resisting efforts to suppress speech.
Eric Swider, the former CEO of DWAC, will join Trump Media as a director.
On Saturday, Donald Trump expressed his enthusiasm for Truth Social to his numerous online followers. However, the previous day witnessed a significant decline in the share price of the newly merged company set to own the social media platform. Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), the shell company involved, experienced a nearly 14% drop in its share price shortly after shareholders approved the merger with the former president’s social media venture, indicating its transition to a publicly traded entity.
The decline in DWAC’s stock value, which reached a high of $58.72 per share on Jan. 23 amidst growing expectations of the merger, contrasted sharply with its opening price of $44.20 per share on Friday morning just before the shareholder vote. By the close of trading on Friday afternoon, DWAC shares had fallen further to $36.94 per share.
This downward trend in share price, if sustained in the coming weeks, could potentially impact the estimated value of Trump’s majority stake in the newly formed entity, Trump Media, which was previously valued at around $3 billion before the shareholder approval.