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Patrick Orlando, the CEO of the to-be-public shell company Trump Media and Technology Group, urged Donald Trump and Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes on Friday to push for an upcoming vote to extend the deadline merger of the two companies.
“@realDonaldTrump @DevinNunes we’re raising voting awareness,” wrote the head of Digital World Acquisition Corp. in a Truth Social post that attached information about the shareholder vote.
Representatives for DWAC and TMTG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DWAC shareholders will vote on October 10 to approve an extension of the merger deadline. A similar vote in September failed to achieve the necessary 65% investor support. Orlando then pumped $2.8 million from his company Arc Global Investments II into a trust for DWAC, helping it stave off liquidation for now.
The former president has already hinted at killing the deal to go public and using his own money to fund the media company. “Who knows? In any case, I don’t need financing, ‘I’m very rich!’ Anyone from private enterprise???” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in early September.
DWAC is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. These so-called blank check companies find businesses to list on public exchanges.
DWAC has until December to complete the merger with Trump Media and take over the former president’s company, giving it access to billions of dollars. A successful shareholder vote would extend the deadline by about a year.
Another key deadline for the deal happened in September. The private investors who agreed to contribute about $1 billion after the merger are no longer contractually obligated to provide that capital. DWAC reported last week that $138 million in private investment has already been withdrawn.
These are far from the only problems facing DWAC and Trump Media. The two companies are the subject of a Justice Department investigation into possible securities violations related to conversations that occurred between company representatives prior to the merger. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the deal.
Trump Media has said it was exploring legal action against the SEC, saying the regulator has delayed the merger.
The former president is also the subject of multiple investigations of his own. New York Attorney General Letitia James recently announced civil proceedings against him, the Trump Organization and his three eldest sons for fraud. He is also under investigation for his actions related to the removal of sensitive White House documents, his alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election, and his role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill uprising.
Trump launched Truth Social and Trump Media after being banned from Twitter and other social media platforms following the riots, when hundreds of his supporters stormed Congress in a failed attempt to prevent lawmakers from confirming Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 elections.
DWAC closed more than 3% higher at $16.81, but is far from its 2022 high of around $97.
