Trump social media “raises $1bn” ahead of IPO
Former US President Donald Trump claims his new social media firm has struck investment agreements worth over $1 billion ahead of a planned stock market listing.
Trump social media “raises $1bn” ahead of IPO
The Trump Media & Technology Group is building a social media app named Truth Social, to be launched early next year.
Trump began working on the new social media after being banned from platforms Twitter and Facebook following the attack on the US Capitol in January.
“$1 billion sends an important message to Big Tech that censorship and political discrimination must end,” Trump said.
“As our balance sheet expands, Trump Media & Technology Group will be in a stronger position to fight back against the tyranny of Big Tech.”
Early this year, Trump announced his plan to launch Truth Social, saying that it would allow conversation “without discrimination on the basis of political ideology.”
Prior to being kicked off most social media platforms, the former President – who lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden yet refused to acknowledge his defeat – was a frequent tweeter.
The Trump Media & Technology Group has partnered on the project with Digital World Acquisition – a so-called special purpose acquisition company (Spac) or ‘blank cheque company’.
Spacs are shell companies that are created with the purpose of merging with a private firm to take it public. They became a big story in the US stock market at the start of 2021, but have lost interest after some of the companies that merged with them did not meet their ambitious financial goals.
On Saturday, Trump’s firm claimed that it will be receiving the $1 billion from “a diverse group of institutional investors”, but did not reveal who they were. Reports claim that the social media venture is now valued at $4 billion.
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