Trump Media deal partner says shareholders approve delay of merger with Truth Social parent

Shareholders for a firm seeking to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) voted on Tuesday to extend the deadline to combine with the parent company of former President Trump’s social media site Truth Social.

Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) will now have until September 2023 to complete the merger with TMTG, according to CNBC.

Shares were up roughly 2 percent on news of the extension.

DWAC, a so-called “blank check” company created to merge with a technology company, faced liquidation if it didn’t win approval to extend the deadline.

TMTG needs the cash from the acquisition firm to go public. The merger could result in around $1 billion in funding.

Before Tuesday, DWAC had delayed the vote as it worked to win the support of 65 percent of the shareholders needed to extend the deadline for the merger.

Both DWAC and TMTG face dual investigations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over alleged violations of stock trading rules.

The SEC would have to sign off on the merger between the two companies.

Trump created the Truth Social platform after he was suspended from Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, lifted the suspension on Trump’s account this month, but the former president said he intends to remain on his own platform.