Truth Social is going public

Shareholders of the Digital World Acquisition Corporation approved a long-awaited merger with Truth Social, former President Donald Trump’s beleaguered social media app, on Friday — potentially boosting Trump’s net worth by $3 billion. 

As a result of the merger, shareholders of publicly traded DWAC will become shareholders of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company behind Truth Social. Trump’s media company will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol DJT as early as next week, The Associated Press reports. 

Trump owns nearly 79 million shares in the company, meaning the merger could give him a much-needed inflow of cash. The former president owes more than $454 million in legal penalties. But a so-called “lock-up” provision prevents him from selling any of his shares or using them as collateral of a loan for six months, though The New York Times notes that he can ask the board of the newly merged company to waive the rule for him.

In the hours after the merger was announced, DWAC’s stock fell by as much as 12 percent. The company behind Truth Social has been bleeding money since the platform launched in 2022. Trump’s media company lost $49 million during the first nine months of 2023, according to an Axios report from January.