Former President Donald Trump made an abrupt return to X, formerly known as Twitter, Thursday night after surrendering in the Fulton County Jail in Georgia. Maneuver sent Acquisition of the digital world (your medicine), the special purpose acquisition company that aims to float Trump’s tech and social media platform, early Friday.
X
Trump’s lone post on X from his mug shot Thursday night sent DWAC stock down 3% to 13.50 Friday as the market moves. On Thursday, the DWAC fell 0.4% to 13.93.
The former president, who last used the social media platform on January 8, 2021, posted his picture with a link to collect donations for his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump is facing allegations that he headed a criminal organization trying to overturn the results of the 2020 Georgia presidential election.
The caption on the photo read, “interfering in the elections.” “never give up!”
DWAC plans to take Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) public in a reverse merger. Trump Media is the parent company of conservative social media platform Truth Social.
Truth Social was launched after Twitter, now X, closed Trump’s account in the wake of the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol. Elon Musk bought the social networking site in October and restored Trump’s account. Some industry observers assert that returning to X could redirect a large portion of Truth Social’s audience to the more mainstream channel.
Trump had previously indicated that he would stay off X, staying only on Truth Social.
Trump shares and DWAC
DWAC stock is strongly associated with Donald Trump’s brand value. Trump’s current status as the top Republican candidate for president directly affects the value of the stock. Federal charges would likely tarnish this brand, according to company filings, though that hasn’t been the case so far.
DWAC stock is down about 92% from its Oct. 22, 2021 high of 175, which was set just after news of the Trump merger deal broke. Shares have fallen 81% since Musk began buying Twitter in January 2022.
On July 21, DWAC rose 50% after SPAC reached an $18 million fraud settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The settlement with the SEC states that DWAC must pay $18 million in civil penalty fees if it completes its merger with TMTG. However, if the merger does not happen before January 1, 2025, and if DWAC returns the investors’ money, the SEC has agreed to waive the penalty.
The SEC alleged that improper merger discussions took place prior to the filing of the IPO. Meanwhile, this month DWAC is looking to extend the deadline to complete the merger yet again. The SPAC has scheduled a special meeting for September 5 to vote on the new extension.
Please follow Kate Norton on Twitter @kitnorton for more coverage.
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