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☆ Legal Fight Over Trump Media’s Ownership Adds to Its Woes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | David Yaffe-Bellany | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In February, they sued the company, claiming that Trump Media — which made its trading debut last month at an $8 billion valuation — was trying to deprive them of the full value of their shares. Now they also claim the company is trying to prevent them from selling those shares. In a separate lawsuit that followed, Trump Media claimed that Mr. Moss and Mr. Litinsky should forfeit their shares because their poor decision-making had contributed to a yearslong delay in its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corporation. Trump Media agreed to merge with Digital World, a cash-rich shell company, in 2021 as a way to go public, but the deal closed only in March. The pair’s stake is worth more than $220 million based on the current $26 share price of Trump Media, compared with $2 billion for Mr. Trump.

Persons: Wes Moss, Andy Litinsky, Donald J, Trump, Moss, Litinsky Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth, Trump Media, Acquisition Corporation

☆ 3 things rattling markets this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The S&P 500 tumbled the first two trading days of the new quarter and is down 0.8% for the week after paring back some of its losses on Wednesday. Some Fed officials revealed at the central bank’s policy meeting last month that they see fewer rate cuts than the three they forecast last December for 2024. Traders see a 63% expectation that the Fed cuts rates in June, a drop from more than 70% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. “With Middle East tensions on the rise, OPEC+ supply side measures have pushed crude oil volatility down,” BofA strategists wrote in a Wednesday report. “Adding to a complex backdrop, we now estimate that improving economic growth expectations have helped push global oil markets into a deficit.”The price of gold has also climbed this week.

Persons: New York CNN — Stocks, “, ”, Brent Schutte, Jerome Powell, •, Loretta Mester, Raphael Bostic, Brent, Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, Donald Trump’s, Matt Egan, “ Michael, ” Damian Williams, Bruce Garelick, ” Williams, ” Read, Joe Biden, Sean Lyngaas, China Nicholas Burns, Antony Blinken, Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN —, Treasury, FactSet, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, Hawkish, San Francisco Fed, Stanford University, Wednesday, • Cleveland Fed, Atlanta Fed, CNBC, Traders, Organization of, Petroleum, West Texas, Brent, Bank of America, Trump Media, Trump Media & Technology Group, DWAC, Southern, of, Acquisition Corporation, “, Microsoft, US, Department of Homeland Security, CNN Locations: New York, OPEC, Florida, of New York, Washington, China

☆ Two investors in Trump Media insider trading case plead guilty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The two brothers were arrested in June and charged with illegally trading on nonpublic knowledge of a shell company’s secret plan to buy Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of struggling social network Truth Social. Shares of the shell company, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, spiked after the blank-check company publicly announced an agreement to merge with Trump Media. Trump owns 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, a stake valued at about $4.1 billion. The defendants passed the secret information about the impending Trump Media deal to friends on. There was no allegation in the indictment that Trump himself had any involvement in the alleged insider trading scheme.

Persons: Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, Donald Trump’s, “ Michael, ” Damian Williams, Bruce Garelick, ” Williams, ”, Trump, Michael Shvartsman’s, Gerald Shvartsman’e, CNN’s Kara Scannell Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump Media & Technology Group, DWAC, Trump Media, Southern, of, Acquisition Corporation, “, Truth, Trump, Digital Locations: New York, Florida, of New York, Las Vegas

☆ 2 Brothers in Trump Media Insider-Trading Scheme Plead Guilty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two brothers from Miami pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan for their role in a nearly $23 million insider-trading scheme surrounding the 2021 announcement that former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company planned to merge with a cash-rich shell company. Michael and Gerald Shvartsman, who had pleaded not guilty to securities fraud charges last summer, were set to go on trial later this month. But the brothers decided this week to forgo a trial, instead entering their guilty pleas before Judge Lewis J. Liman of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Each man pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. Michael Shvartsman, who ran a venture investment firm called Rocket One, used some of the proceeds from the scheme to buy a $14 million luxury yacht that he named Provocateur.

Persons: Donald J, Michael, Gerald Shvartsman, Judge Lewis J, Liman, Michael Shvartsman Organizations: Southern, of, Trump Media & Technology Group, Acquisition Corporation Locations: Miami, Manhattan, U.S, of New York

18-22 View All 11 ImagesMeanwhile, Trump's campaign – and the national Republican Party – are having cash problems of their own. President Joe Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million in February – almost twice the $10.9 million Trump's campaign raised during the same period, according to filing with the Federal Election Commission. The Democratic National Committee also outraised its counterpart, with the Democratic group pulling in $16.6 million in February, compared to the $10.7 million the Republican National Committee raised in the same period. The amounts for both parties and candidates do not include money raised by outside groups or coordinated committees on behalf of each candidate. Big donors might be reluctant to contribute money to a Trump or GOP committee if they think it will go to pay Trump's private legal bills.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, boastful Trump, Letitia James, –, Republican Party –, Joe Biden's, Richard Lau, Lau, Biden, “, I’m, ” Biden, Donald, ’, it's, Sarah Bryner, Bryner, Donald Trump Jr Organizations: Republican National Committee, Republicans, Republican Party, Federal, Commission, Democrat, Trump, Democratic National Committee, Democratic, Save America PAC, RNC, Republican, GOP, Rutgers University, Biden –, Responsive, Trump Media, Acquisition Corporation Locations: New York, Dallas

☆ Digital World Shares Surge as Republican Primary Field Narrows
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the cash-rich shell company that plans to merge with former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company, soared as much as 70 percent on Monday, a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination and brought Mr. Trump even closer to securing it. The jump reflected investors’ enthusiasm around Trump Media & Technology Group, the beleaguered company that has been trying since 2021 to merge with Digital World, a special purpose acquisition company. Digital World raised roughly $300 million in its September 2021 initial public offering — money that the Trump company needs to run its business. Digital World’s shares had already more than doubled since Mr. Trump won the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15.

Persons: Donald J, Ron DeSantis, Trump, ”, Kristi Marvin Organizations: Acquisition Corporation, Gov, Republican, Trump Media & Technology Group Locations: Florida, Iowa

☆ Trump’s Truth Social Platform Could Struggle to Survive Without New Cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | More About Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company is running on fumes and could be at risk of folding if it doesn’t find new funds in a hurry. In a regulatory filing this week, auditors for Trump Media & Technology Group expressed doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a “going concern” without new financing. The filing also made clear that Trump Media desperately needs to complete its long-delayed merger with a cash-rich shell company so that it can tap $300 million in cash, especially if its flagship online platform, Truth Social, has any chance of surviving. If the transaction goes through, it could value Trump Media at $1 billion based on Digital World’s share price of $16.60. Yet, the rich valuation is no guarantee that the company, which largely relies on advertising revenue from Truth Social — and Truth Social itself — will be a viable business.

Persons: Donald J Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Trump, Acquisition Corporation, Truth

☆ Trump's Truth Social has lost $73 million since its launch, faces potential shutdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In its first fiscal year ending Dec. 2022, TMTG, Truth Social's parent company, lost over $50 million on $1.4 million in sales. Given that origin story, Truth Social has branded itself as a safe haven from "Big Tech censorship," a vision that must be realized for Truth Social to maintain any sort of competitive advantage, according to the filing. Trump returned to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in August, though he has said Truth Social is still his primary social media platform. Trump's presence on Truth Social started as a boon for the company but has now become a crutch. But even the former president's loyalty to Truth Social may not be enough to keep the platform afloat on its own.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, DWAC, Devin Nunes, Nunes, Trump, Elon Musk Organizations: Acquisition Corporation, Trump Media, Technology Group, Trump, Republican, DWAC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Truth, Twitter, Facebook, U.S . Capitol, Big Tech, Tesla

☆ Truth Social merger: Trump Media & Technology Group and DWAC now both have the option to kill the deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The long-delayed and highly controversial deal to bring Truth Social and the Trump media empire to Wall Street has a new twist – the merger could get terminated by either party. Under an updated merger agreement, both parties in the deal will have the opportunity to kill the merger between October 31 and November 21, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Likewise, Trump Media can terminate the deal for the same reasons over the same window of time. The parties did not explain why the new termination language was added to the merger agreement. The so-called blank-check firm targeted Trump Media in the fall of 2021.

Persons: that’s, Donald Trump, Trump, Matthew Tuttle, ”, Tuttle, ” Tuttle Organizations: New, New York CNN, Truth, Trump, Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Digital, Securities and Exchange Commission, Trump Organization, Tuttle Capital Management Locations: New York

☆ Trump’s Truth Social merger partner granted key extension to avoid liquidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank-check firm seeking to merge with former President Donald Trump’s media company, will get another extension to complete its troubled deal. Shareholders voted to grant DWAC (DWAC) another year to pull off its merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, according to an SEC document posted Wednesday. Had shareholders voted against the extension, DWAC would have liquidated, and the social media platform would have to find another financial backer by September 8, 2023. It’s the second time DWAC asked for an extension for closing the deal, the first being in September 2022. In June, federal prosecutors arrested three investors on insider trading charges related to Digital World’s deal with Trump’s media company.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, DWAC, Devin Nunes Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump Media & Technology Group, SEC, TMTG Locations: New York

For the Biden administration, “the only thing they can pretty much do to counteract Saudi cuts is to bring more oil into the market from other countries,” León said. “Iran and Venezuela are the best candidates,” he added, even if it’s politically unpalatable to fully reopen talks with them. Domestic producers of oil from shale won’t fill the void in the short term. The SPAC buying Donald Trump’s social network gets more time for its deal. Shareholders in Digital World Acquisition Corporation voted to give the firm 12 more months to close its merger with Truth Social.

Persons: Biden, ” León, León, ’, Margrethe Vestager, Didier Reynders, Vestager, Donald Trump’s Organizations: European Investment Bank, European Commission, Truth Locations: Iran, Venezuela, States, Washington

☆ SPAC seeking to merge with Trump's media company settles with the SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it settled with the blank-check company seeking to merge with former President Donald Trump’s media company. Nearly two years ago, TMTG announced that it would merge with Digital World, which is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. A SPAC, also known as a blank-check company, is a shell company that debuts on the public market with the stated intent to acquire an existing private company. The SEC said it also found that Digital World failed to disclose that its CEO had a potential conflict of interest with TMTG based on a previous agreement he signed with the company. Last month, federal prosecutors arrested three investors on insider trading charges related to Digital World’s deal with Trump’s media company.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, TMTG, DWAC, “, ”, Gurbir, Grewal Organizations: CNN, Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Acquisition, Trump Media & Technology Locations: SEC’s

☆ SPAC seeking merger with Trump’s media company agrees to settlement with SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The terms are not yet definitive, according to an SEC filing, and the final agreement is subject to approval by the commission. If it’s approved, the SEC will enter a cease-and-desist order with the company, finding DWAC violated “antifraud provisions” connected to initial public offering filings. Nearly two years ago, former President Donald Trump’s media group agreed to combine with DWAC to bring the company public through what’s known as a SPAC, or a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation. TMTG is not a party to the settlement, according to the SEC filing, and did not consent to it. “TMTG may disagree and try to terminate the Merger Agreement,” the SEC filing said.

Persons: New York CNN —, it’s, Donald Trump’s, DWAC, “ DWAC, Matt Egan, Kara Scannell Organizations: New, New York CNN, Corp, Securities and Exchange Commission, Truth Social, Trump Media & Technology Group, SEC Locations: New York

New York CNN —Federal prosecutors arrested three investors on Thursday on insider trading charges related to a deal to take former President Donald Trump’s media business public. The value of the securities they purchased went up sharply once the Trump deal was announced, prosecutors say. After signing non-disclosure agreements, prosecutors say they were provided confidential information that Trump Media was a potential target of the SPACs. Prosecutors say Garelick provided to his co-conspirators what he described as “intelligence” about the Trump merger negotiations and the timing of a public merger announcement. Digital World shares skyrocketed following the Trump Media merger news as investors saw it as a way to bet on the fortunes of the former president.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, Bruce Garelick, Donald Trump, hadn’t, Garelick Organizations: New, New York CNN, Corporation, Truth Social, Trump Media & Technology Group, Digital, The Securities, Exchange Commission, Nasdaq, Trump Media, Prosecutors, Trump Locations: New York, Miami

☆ Bowlero, the public company that reimagined bowling, faces dozens of discrimination claims that the feds want to settle for $60 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

The 73 EEOC claims brought by individual former employees against the company sparked the larger pattern or practice investigation into age discrimination. Only a fraction of EEOC age discrimination complaints — 2.8% in fiscal 2021 — resulted in reasonable cause determinations, EEOC data show. It went from running six bowling alleys to 272 overnight after it acquired AMF, which was then the largest bowling company in the world and was in bankruptcy. The following year, Shannon's company acquired the Brunswick Corporation, the second-largest bowling company in the world, and changed his company's name to Bowlero. Dowe said negotiations fell apart when Bowlero countered the EEOC's $60 million settlement proposal with a proposal of $500,000.

☆ X-energy to go public via $2 billion blank-check deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - X-energy has agreed to merge with blank-check firm Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC.N) in a deal valued at around $2 billion, the companies said on Tuesday. Founded in 2009, X-energy develops small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation. The deal is expected to generate cash proceeds of about $1 billion for X-energy from the trust account of the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Ares, assuming no redemptions. A SPAC is a listed shell company that merges with a private company, taking it public in the process. After the deal closes, which is expected in the second quarter of 2023, the combined entity will be named X-Energy Inc.

☆ Hammerhead plans rare U.S. listing of Canadian gas producer in over $1 bln SPAC deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe Nasdaq logo is displayed at the Nasdaq Market site in Times Square in New York City, U.S., December 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah MoonSept 26 (Reuters) - Hammerhead Resources Inc plans to list on the Nasdaq by merging with blank check company Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation IV (DCRD.O) in a C$1.39 billion ($1.02 billion) deal, a rare U.S.-listing for a Canadian oil and gas producer. Its decarbonization investment campaign across its asset base is estimated to require $240 million of capital between 2023 and 2029. CIBC Capital Markets and Peters & Co. Limited are acting as financial and capital markets advisers to Hammerhead. ($1 = 1.3652 Canadian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trump's Truth Social barred from Google Play store over content moderation concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-30 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Truth Social, the would-be Twitter competitor created by Trump Media and Technology Group, remains unavailable on the Google Play store. Truth Social acknowledged Google's concerns and said it would work on addressing these issues, according to Axios. Well, look, that's up to the Google Play store. "It is our belief that all Americans should have access to Truth Social no matter what devices they use. We look forward to Google approving Truth Social at their earliest convenience."

☆ Trump-linked SPAC's stock falls as shareholders weigh delaying merger with ex-president's media firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-29 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The current deadline to take Trump Media public is Sept. 8. Trump Media and Technology Group controls Truth Social, which is reportedly facing severe financial difficulties. DWAC warned last week that damage to the former president's dwindling popularity could hurt the deal. The Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Justice Department have been investigating the proposed merger between DWAC and Trump Media. Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Trump Media as it probes possible undisclosed conversations between the SPAC and Trump Media employees that may have violated securities regulations.

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