Former President Donald Trump's newly merged social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG), is set to commence trading on the NASDAQ market under the stock ticker symbol DJT. This move comes after a successful merger between Trump's company and the shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
The merger approval led to a surge of approximately 10% in shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. on Monday morning. Shareholders of DWAC voted overwhelmingly on Friday to greenlight the combination with Trump Media & Technology Group, the entity behind the Truth Social app platform.
With shares expected to hit public markets this week, the debut of TMTG could potentially yield significant financial gains for Trump. As per current projections, Trump stands to own around 80 million shares in the new company, estimated to be valued at $3 billion or more.
However, Trump will be subject to certain restrictions regarding the sale of shares, with a mandated lock-up period of at least six months. The board of directors, which is anticipated to include individuals close to Trump such as his son, Donald Trump Jr., and former trade representative Robert Lighthizer, could potentially authorize an earlier sale of shares.
The influx of funds from selling shares could aid Trump in addressing his mounting legal expenses, including damage judgments totaling over $500 million across three separate cases.
Despite a dip of nearly 14% in stock value on Friday following the merger approval, the overall trajectory of DWAC shares has been positive, with a year-to-date increase of approximately 130%. However, the stock has seen a decline of over 30% since reaching its 52-week high on January 23.
