As Donald Trump’s Twitter-alternative app is restored on Google’s Play Store, so are the chances that a billion-dollar deal to take the company public will go ahead.
Shares of the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) created for the deal, Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC), spiked during after-hour trading, following news that Google allowed the Trump-backed social media app back on its platform.
But the hype likely isn’t sustainable considering the SPAC stock has far bigger headwinds to combat.
A year ago, the blank-check company was set up to raise capital in the public markets and take Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), public. In the last few months, the deal has been delayed several times, running into a ton of financial and legal trouble.
Brief history
Oct. 21, 2021: DWAC shares soar 400% on the back of chatter in online forums like Reddit’s WallStreetBets and the chatroom Stocktwits, making it a a meme stock of sorts
Oct. 29, 2021: A New York Times article reports that DWAC failed to disclose talks with the TMTG from May to October 2021 to the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC)
Nov. 17, 2021: Senator Elizabeth Warren writes to the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), asking the authority to investigate whether DWAC “committed securities violations”
Feb 22, 2022: Shares of DWAC surge nearly 30% in premarket trading as Truth Social debuts on Apple’s App Store
June 30, 2022: TMTG is subpoenaed as part of a criminal investigation into its attempt to go public through DWAC
Aug. 30, 2022: Google bans the app over “insufficient” moderation policies. Calls for Apple to remove the app from its app store grow louder, but Apple continues to allow it
Oct. 10, 2022: DWAC postpones shareholder meeting to Nov. 3 after failing to get enough support for a 12-month extension. This is not the first time it’s been delayed.
Oct. 12, 2022: Truth social makes a comeback on the Google Play store
Quotable
“One way or another, this company is going to go bankrupt. I don’t think the company is going to be approved by the SEC.” —William Wilkerson, a senior executive who worked on Truth Social and then turned whistleblower alleging securities violations in the DWAC-TMTG merger
By the digits
$1.3 billion: cash infusion that TMTG stood to receive from DWAC
$138 million: offering from investors who’ve pulled out already
4: number of times DWAC CEO Patrick Orlando has used his executive power to adjourn and delay the meeting
5: number of times trading of SPAC was halted on day one of its public debut due to volatility
65%: shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp needed to agree to the extension
8 weeks: time before DWAC’s deadline to liquidate, set for Dec. 8—unless shareholders vote for an extension
Twitter’s effect on Truth Social
Trump made Truth Social after he was kicked off Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. His 4 million followers on the new platform pales in comparison to the 80 million he had amassed on Twitter.
As Elon Musk gets closer to buying Twitter (again), so do the chances of Trump’s account being reinstated on Musk’s behest. That’s why the DWAC stock slides on the news of the Twitter deal.
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🥨 Donald Trump’s SPAC deal has a meme stock problem