NEW YORK (AP), Nine months after he was expelled from social networks for inciting the Jan. 6, Capitol insurrections, Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is launching a new media firm with its own social platform.
Trump stated that his goal with the launch of Trump Media & Technology Group's TRUTH Social" app and Trump Media & Technology Group was to challenge the Big Tech companies who have closed him out and denied Trump the power that was essential to his rise to national prominence.
"We live in a world in which the Taliban have a large presence on Twitter, but your favorite American President is silenced," he stated in a statement. This is unacceptable.
The new venture, which was created by a merger of Digital World Acquisition Corp. and a public release, stated that it seeks to be listed publicly.
DWA is a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC) based in Miami. These publicly traded companies allow private companies to list their shares faster than traditional initial public offerings. This means that the SPAC acquires private firms and changes their name and other details to match the acquired company.
SPACs purchase their acquisitions using cash from investors who purchased shares in the initial public offering of SPACs.
Since he was banned from Twitter and Facebook, Trump has talked about starting his own social media website. After the page received dismal views, a previous attempt to launch a blog was abandoned.
The app will be soft-launched next month and then rolled out nationwide in the first half of next year. Additionally, the company plans to launch TMTG+, a video-on demand service that will offer entertainment programming, news, and podcasts.
DWA stated that it raised approximately $293 million in cash. This money will be used to expand TMTGs ventures. According to a filing with Securities and Exchange Commission, several institutional investors are among the company's largest shareholders, including Lighthouse Investment Partners and D. E. Shaw & Co. and Radcliffe Capital Management.
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According to the release, the deal has an $875 million initial enterprise value. This measure takes into consideration a company's total assets and debts.
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This report was contributed by Alex Veiga, an AP business reporter.
