The TRUTH Social website is seen on a mobile device with an image of former US President Donald Trump in the background in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland, on February 23, 2022.
Nurfoto | Getty Images
Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the company that plans to take Trump Media and Technology Group public, saw its stock price fall on Monday as shareholders consider delaying the merger and the former president faces a series of legal problems.
A Monday filing from DWAC said voting for a oneyear delay would open Tuesday. The current deadline to go public with Trump Media is September 8th. DWAC has warned it may be forced into liquidation if the deadline is not extended. The shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for September 6.
DWAC shares fell more than 8% to about $25 on Monday, down 16% this month and significantly below their 2022 high of about $97.
DWAC representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump’s Media and Technology Group controls Truth Social, which is facing serious financial difficulties. A merger with DWAC would give Trump’s company access to billions of dollars in publicly traded securities markets.
The former president created Truth Social to compete with Twitter after he was banned from the platform for his tweets about the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. On that day, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the building to attempt to prevent Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump has been at the center of a criminal investigation into the alleged improper removal of sensitive and classified documents from the White House. FBI agents searched the former president’s MaraLago home earlier this month. An affidavit justifying the search said there was “probable cause to believe evidence of obstruction will be found” at his home.
DWAC warned last week that damage to the former president’s waning popularity could hurt the deal. Earlier this month, Trump Media’s trademark application for “TRUTHSOCIAL” was denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office because the title was confusingly similar to existing trademarks.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Department of Justice, have been investigating the proposed merger between DWAC and Trump Media. Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Trump Media as they investigate possible undisclosed conversations between SPAC and Trump Media employees that may have violated securities regulations.
The former president faces multiple investigations, including an investigation into possible interference in Georgia’s presidential election process and his role in the events of January 6, 2021.