Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) executives listed Parler and Rumble as potential purchases or partners, according to documents obtained by whistleblower William Wilkerson.
Former President Donald Trump’s media company sacked Wilkerson earlier in October 2022 after he shared internal records from a Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower complaint with The Washington Post and spoke with the newspaper.
Wilkerson was a founding member of TMTG and its Twitter-like social media platform Truth Social. Trump launched the project after being banned from Twitter for his statements during the January 6 Capital Riot in which hundreds of his supporters stormed Congress in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden’s election victory from being confirmed.
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Among the whistleblower’s documents, dated from the summer of 2021 through the fall of 2022, is a photograph of a flow chart on an easel showing “Trump’s New Media Empire,” which includes a list of “potential acquisitions and/or partnerships.”
The said graphic includes the right-wing social networking platform Parler, which Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, stated he will purchase. It also listed the platform Discord and linear cable channels like One America News and Newsmax.
The company is also looking at conservative video platform Rumble, which currently provides Truth Social’s video hosting services. The platform, backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, has recently merged with CF Acquisition Corp. VI, a special purpose acquisition company backed by Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald–making its New York Stock Exchange debut in September.
In an interview with The New York Times, Wilkerson relayed that it’s possible that TMTG may merge with the already public Rumble, gaining access to $400 million in capital.
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“It is a high probability now that Rumble is a publicly traded entity,” Wilkerson quipped in the interview.
SPAC Digital World Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: DWAC), who is trying to have the same merger deal with TMTG to take it public, has been facing hurdles in closing the transaction. The blank check firm has failed to secure the shareholders’ approval on the firm’s proposed 12-month deadline extension to complete a business combination, despite many attempts.
The deal, first announced in October 2021, is facing regulatory hurdles: the SEC is scrutinizing the merger, particularly the SPAC sponsor ARC Capital and the possible dealings between DWAC and TMTG before the merger. FINRA also sent the blank check firm “preliminary fact-find inquiries” related to trading in the company that occurred prior to the transaction with TMTG being announced.
For its part, TMTG–which manages the social networking site Truth Social–refreshed its call for the US Securities and Exchange Commission to wrap the probe up, claiming the agency caused “real and unnecessary financial harm to DWAC investors,” 90% of which are retail shareholders “the SEC is chartered to protect.”
Trump himself posted on Truth Social that the platform is doing so well, he might not need to take it public for additional funds should the SEC prolong the process further.
“SEC trying to hurt company doing financing (SPAC). Who knows? In any event, I don’t need financing, “I’m really rich!” Private company anyone???” Trump said.
While the graphic disclosed by the Wilkerson’s documents mentions these potential acquisition possibilities, it also mentions a number of other Trump Media endeavors that have yet to materialize, such as “Trump Faith/Classic Films,” “Trump Book Publishing,” and “Trump Documentaries.”
DWAC last traded at US$16.70 on the Nasdaq.
Information for this briefing was found via CNBC and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
