DWAC

“The Trump SPAC” quadruples as his company vows to take on Big Tech

Friday, October 22, 2021 by Snacks

Trump’s back... with a SPAC? Former President Trump wants to take on Big Tech and “create a rival to the liberal media” with his own biz: Trump Media & Technology Group. ICYMI: Trump’s still barred from Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Yesterday, Trump’s company said it was going public by merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (aka DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company (aka SPAC — or blank check company).

  • DWAC shares more than 4X’d in value yesterday. It became the most traded stock on the Nasdaq and NYSE, changing hands 470M+ times.
  • Trump’s company plans to launch a social network called Truth Social next year (it looks a lot like Facebook).
  • Also in the works: a self-described “non-woke” Netflix rival called TMTG+, a CNN competitor called TMTG News, and an Amazon cloud rival.
  • Few deets: The only other TMTG employee announced was Scott St. John, former producer of “Deal or No Deal.”

The Trump hype machine… Trump has used his name to promote other businesses, like his casinos, hotels, and Trump University. But his biz record is financially and legally questionable. His only previous public company, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, lost money every year until it went bankrupt (one of his six bankruptcies). And the Trump Org and its CFO were recently charged with 15 felony counts, including tax evasion.

THE TAKEAWAY

SPACs attract big names… Companies that go public via a SPAC sometimes face less oversight than those that IPO, which can help raise cash more quickly — especially when there’s a big name behind them. Other celebs like Shaq, Serena Williams, and Jay-Z have launched their own SPACs. Meanwhile, the SEC warned this year that it’s “never a good idea to invest in a SPAC just because someone famous sponsors or invests in it.”

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