Now out of office, news regarding former President Donald Trump has been rather lacking from TechCrunch’s pages. He’s back.
News broke yesterday that Trump Media & Technology Group, a concern formed to take on a host of major technology and media companies, plans to go public via a merger with a SPAC. The blank-check company in question, Digital World Acquisition Corp., recently raised $287.5 million.
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The merger of Trump Media & Technology Group — TMTG from here on out — and Digital World will sport “an initial enterprise value of $875 Million,” with the potential for another $825 million in capital “depending on the performance of the stock price post-business combination.”
Per the release disclosing the transaction, “Trump Media & Technology Group’s growth plans initially will be funded by DWAC’s cash in trust[.]”
Yeah, I’ll bet.
The former president has apparently decided that funding the company that bears his name would be too expensive, so he’s leveraging a SPAC to underwrite the effort.
Regardless of how we feel about that, we have to take this news item seriously. Because when the name of the company says “Media & Technology,” it apparently means it. An overview of the TMTG company shows huge aspirations — if limited evidence of actual progress. A quarter-billion dollars will certainly help.
First, some notes on the money in the deal. And then an overview of what TMTG wants to build.
Are we being punished?
Yes. Clearly.