Former President Donald Trump is poised to receive a substantial sum of $3.5 billion following the approval of the merger between Digital World Acquisition Corp. and his Truth Social by shareholders. This financial boost coincides with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ efforts to seize Trump’s assets to cover a $464 million bond related to his civil fraud case in New York.
The merger, which had been delayed for an extended period, was finally greenlit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. This development will result in Trump’s company, Trump Media & Technology Group, being publicly traded under the stock symbol “DJT” as early as next week.
Upon completion of the merger, Trump will hold close to 79 million shares in the combined entity, valued at approximately $41 per share. Although there is a six-month lock-up period before he can liquidate his stake, there is speculation that Trump may request an exemption to access the funds sooner to cover the bond and pursue an appeal in the fraud case.
Prior to the merger, Trump’s legal team had stated earlier this week that paying the bond in cash would be extremely difficult.
🚨BREAKING: Shareholders have just voted to make Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, a publicly traded company. This could net Trump a windfall of $4 billion. The President would need to seek a waiver to liquidate his stock before the end of a…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 22, 2024