Donald Trump owns a third of Trump Media, which reverse-listed on the Nasdaq today after merging with a blank-cheque company or spac (special purpose acquisition corporation). Photo / AP
Donald Trump owns a third of Trump Media, which reverse-listed on the Nasdaq today after merging with a blank-cheque company or spac (special purpose acquisition corporation). Photo / AP
Shares of Donald Trump’s social media company jumped more than 30 per cent in the first day of trading on the Nasdaq, boosting the value of Trump’s large holdings in the company as well as the smaller stakes of fans who purchased shares as a show of support for theformer president.
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp merged with a company called Digital World Acquisition Corp. Trump Media, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, has now taken Digital World’s place on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Before trading began, Trump Media had a market value of about US$6.8 billion, a figure that will rise significantly if the gains in the shares hold. The shares are trading under the ticker symbol “DJT”. Trump holds a nearly 60 per cent ownership stake in the company. From the start of trading, the shares rose 34 per cent to US$67.
The stock created such a frenzy that Nasdaq briefly halted its trading just two minutes after it began for the day.
Many of Trump Media’s investors are small-time investors either trying to support Trump or aiming to cash in on the mania, instead of big institutional and professional investors. Those shareholders helped the stock of Digital World more than double this year in anticipation of the merger going through.
Truth Social launched in February 2022, one year after Trump was banned from major social platforms including Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, following the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. He’s since been reinstated to both but has stuck with Truth Social.
Yesterday, #DJT and the ticker of Digital World were two of the top trending topics in posts on Truth Social and users were posting about being shareholders or seeking tips on how to buy shares.
One user urged conservatives to “get behind the DJT stock and sent it over US$100 per share” to “drive the liberals insane!” Another declared: “Get yourself a piece of #DJT stock if you’re a true MAGA supporter.”
