The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) planning to take former President Trump‘s media company public will now have another year to complete the deal.
Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) shareholders voted Tuesday to allow the SPAC up to an additional 12 months to hammer out the details of its merger with the former president’s Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns social media platform Truth Social.
The extension came three days before the previous deadline of Friday that requited DWAC to combine with Trump Media or liquidate and return the $300 million raised in its initial public offering to current shareholders. The new deadline is Sept. 8, 2024.
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DWAC and Trump Media first announced plans to combine in October 2021, but the deal has seen a series of setbacks. The merger is currently subject to Securities Act-related investigations by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice. In an SEC filing last year, the SPAC warned that the probes may delay the merger.
Truth Social has been former President Trump’s preferred method of communication since its launch after he was banned from posting on other social media platforms, including Twitter, now known as X, before it was purchased by tech billionaire Elon Musk last year.
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Fears that Trump would return to X to broaden his reach amid his 2024 presidential campaign have given some DWAC investors the jitters that his doing so would devalue Truth Social. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that since Trump posted his mugshot on X last month, “some Digital World investors have withdrawn their cash.”
If the DWAC’s deal with Trump Media closes, the former president’s media company would gain access to more than $1 billion in cash from DWAC’s institutional investors, such as hedge funds. According to a Feb. 2, 2021, services agreement, Trump controls 90% of Trump Media.
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Digital World’s stock traded at $16.77 on Tuesday, up 1.6% on the day but down from its peak of around $97 a share in March 2022.
FOX Business’ Aislinn Murphy and Reuters contributed to this report.