As the former president struggles to post a bond in his New York civil fraud trial, the potential sale of Truth Social for as much as 5.7 billion dollars bears a closer look.
Who is buying Truth Social and how has the value been set? Digital World Acquisition Corporation was formed in May of 2021. It is a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation, referred to colloquially as a “Blank Check” operation. These are businesses formed with the intent to buy something. In this case DWAC was formed to buy a Digital media company, Truth Social.
The buyer has 38 million shares extant selling around $34 per share.
The CEO of DWAC is Florida banker Patrick Orlando, formerly of Deutsche Bank. He has businesses registered in the Cayman Islands and operating in China.
Almost as soon as it was formed, DWAC ran afoul of insider trading violations. Special purpose companies are not supposed to have a specific target when they go public. It seems clear that DWAC insiders knew Truth Social was the target and conducted trades secure in that knowledge. Three people were arrested in June of 2023 for such trades. www.cnn.com/…. The company paid 18 million in fines.
Truth Social has never turned a profit and has few tangible assets but the deal values the company at 5.7 billion dollars. Trumps shares would be worth 3 billion dollars.
DWAC CEO Orlando will turn his initial 3 million dollar stake into a 420 million dollar payday. In one of the weirder facts surrounding the story is Orlando’s ownership of a company in Wuhan China. Chinese firm ARC Capital was involved in the creation of DWAC and ran into legal problems as well. www.washingtonpost.com/…
Does it strike the reader as odd that Trump formed Truth after being banned from Twitter for spreading Covid misinformation only to sell it to interests with ties to Wuhan China? How is this company valued at 5.7 billion when it has never produced a profit and the entire business depends on the whims of a single user? Given the extensive history of insider dealing , should the SEC permit the merger?
This unholy deal was hatched in the months after the January 6th insurrection. It has been corrupted since day one. Its consummation could once again forestall a day of reconning for DJT. So, I want to know: “is this deal being used by foreign entities to secure Trump’s favor and support his candidacy?”