The Truth social network logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a display of former U.S. President Donald Trump in this picture illustration taken February 21, 2022.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special-purpose acquisition company seeking to take Trump Media and Technology Group public, slid Tuesday after Elon Musk reversed course and proposed going through with his deal to buy Twitter.
Shares of DWAC fell more than 5% Tuesday to $17.10. The stock’s 2022 peak was about $97 in March.
Trump Media and Technology Group owns Truth Social, the platform founded by former President Donald Trump after he was banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
Musk has previously said he would lift Twitter’s ban on Trump after his deal to buy the company closed, which could make Truth Social unnecessary. Trump had about 80 million followers on Twitter. On Truth Social, he has more than 4 million.
DWAC shareholders will vote Monday on whether to extend the deadline for the merger that would take Trump Media public. The deal, which has faced legal and financial obstacles, lost at least $138 million in private investment after a crucial September deadline passed.
In a rally on Saturday, Trump indicated his company could move forward without the DWAC deal.
“If they don’t come with the financing I’ll have it private,” Trump said to supporters in Michigan. “Easy to have it private.”
