The new media company founded by former President Donald Trump is trying to raise $1 billion by selling shares to hedge funds, as it seeks to take advantage of a steep runup in the share price of the blank check company that is acquiring it, according to a report.
Donald Trump waited to speak on the phone in the Oval Office. NICHOLAS KAMM/Agence France-Press
The images are from the same source.
The Trump Media and Technology Group is looking to raise funding through a private investment in public equity called a PIPE, which would value the company around $3 billion.
The company claimed in October that it had an $875 million valuation, but it is now three times that.
DWAC's shares went from $10 to $50 in a week, and have been trading around $40 recently, which the company says is due to its increased valuation.
DWAC shares surged more than 15% from $38.50 Wednesday afternoon to close at $44.35 after the report was published, and later climbed above $50 at times after hours.
According to sources with knowledge of the plans, Trump has been personally making calls to potential investors asking for more than $100 million.
The Trump Media and Technology Group did not reply to Forbes' request.
The new social media platform called TRUTH Social will be the signature component of Trump's company. There is no sign of a public test launch for the website yet, despite the company's announcement in October that there would be a public test launch in November.
The demo version of the TRUTH Social app was similar to a real-time feed from a social networking site. Before he was kicked out of the platform, Trump sent out dozens of tweets a day.
The key background.
Trump was banned from virtually every major social media platform after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Trump is the company chairman and plans to use TRUTH Social to regain a social media presence. According to the news agency, Trump's large social media following prior to his bans has been a selling point for investors. RightForge, the internet infrastructure company that will host the website, is planning for it to have 75 million users.
We don't know what we don't know.
It's not clear if Wednesday's stock surge will last. Many of Trump's supporters who bought in at the height of the craze are sitting on losses, because the stock's price has gradually fallen off. The higher valuation of the PIPE that Trump's company is seeking would result in much greater dilution of existing DWAC investors' stakes than is normal in SPAC transactions.
Sources tell us that Trump's social media venture is looking for a $1 billion raise.
The first product deadline for the Trump SPAC social media company was missed.
According to a poll, over 60% of Republicans plan to use Trump's social truth.
Trump isEnriching Wall Street Elites while Screwing His Own Supporters.
