SPAC Delays Vote Over Donald Trump's Truth Social Again A photo illustration of the social media platform Truth Social logo seen displayed on a smartphone with a photo of former President Donald Trump displayed in the background. (Rafael Henrique/Sipa via AP)
By Nicole Wells | Wednesday, 12 October 2022 11:59 AM EDT
The merger between Digital World Acquisition and former President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform has been put on hold, as the company on Monday delayed its shareholder vote until Nov. 3, according to the New York Post.
Shareholders in the publicly-traded company are being asked to consider a 12-month extension that would allow more time for federal regulators to review the merger with Trump Media & Technology Group.
According to the Miami Herald, the extension is considered essential to Trump's goal of creating a conservative Florida-based Twitter alternative.
The Post reports that at least 65% of Digital World's shareholders needed to agree to the extension and the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) pushed back the vote in an effort to try to gain more support.
Having already moved the deadline several times over the past month, Digital World fell short of the needed votes on Monday.
"We are working diligently to record all the votes that are continuing to come in from our stockholders and are adjourning this meeting to provide additional time for stockholders to cast their votes," Patrick Orlando, CEO and chairman of Digital World said during a webcast and audio conference of the company's shareholder meeting.
Trump's media and technology firm stands to receive a private investment of more than $1 billion in public equity financing from Digital World, which signed a deal with the fledgling social media company to go public in October, 2021, according to the Post.
Last month, Digital World said it had received termination notices from investors who withdrew approximately $140 million of the total financing.
Citing filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and published reports, the Herald reports that federal regulators and prosecutors in New York have escalated their investigations into Digital World and its deal with Trump Media. The ongoing twin investigations are examining potential securities and trading violations and no one has been accused of wrongdoing, according to the Herald.
According to the Post, Digital World is scheduled to liquidate on Dec. 8, after postponing its demise by three months in September.
Reuters reported last month that Digital World executives had failed to pay Saratoga Proxy Consulting for the company's work in readying shareholders for the vote.