That may sound straightforward, but DWAC has been aggressively campaigning for votes, suggesting it is worried about the outcome.
Its backers own about 18 percent of the vehicle’s shares, but the rest is widely dispersed among the largely retail shareholders. DWAC CEO Patrick Orlando has said most of the shares are held by those retail investors. Typically, in proxy votes, he only participates with about 28 percent of retail shareholders, he said in an online interview late last month.
‘I’ve made a fortune using the debt and if things don’t work out I’ll renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a smart thing, not a stupid thing.
donald trump
To get the extension across the line, DWAC needs a vote of at least 65 percent in favor, which means it needs about 57 percent of non-sponsor votes. While most retail investors will probably be staunch Trump supporters, it’s still a tough question.
If the extension doesn’t get enough support, then DWAC could get a six-month extension if it can convince its backers to put up more money, but there’s no certainty the SEC or DoJ will have completed their investigations by then. or what action they might take.
Without the deal, Trump Media is probably in a bit of a bind. In fact, with reports that you’re no longer paying your bills, you may already be.
Donald Trump, of course, has a history of defaulting on his debts as part of what he sees as a smart business strategy.
“I’ve made a fortune using debt and if things don’t work out, renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a smart thing, not a stupid thing,” she once said.
However, Truth Social and its parent company Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) don’t seem to have much of a future, even if Trump got his hands on the DWAC cash. Without him, he would either have to raise cash elsewhere (Trump might have to dig into his own pockets) or go into liquidation.
The social media platform, something of a Twitter rip-off, has struggled to gain traction with anyone other than Trump’s MAGA stalwart crowd.
It only has modest traffic: a couple hundred thousand viewers a day compared to 1.5 million when it launched and Trump himself has only about 4 million followers, compared to 88 million he had on Twitter before. to be expelled from that platform. Twitter has almost 40 million active users a day.
Charging
While the site did spike when the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, that only reinforced the view that the site is entirely dependent on Trump and his popularity, which has been declining among voters in the US.
As the DWAC itself said in a recent SEC filing, “if President Trump becomes less popular or there are more controversies that damage his credibility or people’s desire to use a platform associated with him, and from which he will get a financial benefit, TMTG’s results of operations, as well as the outcome of the proposed business combination, could be adversely affected.”
Aside from the fact that Truth Social doesn’t have exclusive access to Trump “truths” (it could tweet/post elsewhere if other platforms allow), it does have an obvious expiration date.
If he runs for president again and wins in 2024, he could extend that date, but his lifespan and that of the platform appear to be limited as long as he remains a central figure within US political appeal beyond his base.
That ambition to broaden the audience has been hit by Google’s decision to block Truth Social from its Play Store, citing multiple violations of its content policies.
[Trump Media] clearly you need the cash from DWAC, or a lot of funds from elsewhere, if you want to have a future.
(After the FBI raid in Florida, a Truth Social user posted “kill (the FBI) on the spot.” He was subsequently shot and killed after attempting to storm an FBI field office in Cincinnati. That it’s the kind of thing that gets you banned, or banned from app stores, but threats of violence are not uncommon on the platform).
As for controversies, the backlog of classified documents he kept at Mar-a-Lago is just one of countless controversies and potential legal threats Trump faces over his controversial White House tenure.
Trump Media lost $6.5 million in the middle of June, and while it raised $15 million earlier this year, it clearly needs the cash from DWAC, or a lot of funding from elsewhere, if it wants to have a future. let alone perform Trump’s. ambitions to create a major digital media business.
Charging
Even if the shareholders’ meeting approves the extension, of course, it could be up to another 12 months before Trump’s media outlets get their hands on the money, assuming the backers of DWAC and the hedge funds that have done the $1 billion commitment still ready to deliver ended.
The Business Briefing newsletter offers important news, exclusive coverage and expert opinions. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
Leave a Reply