SEC approves Truth Social, Digital World merger

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a merger between former President Trump’s media startup and the blank-check company attempting to take his platform Truth Social public.

Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) said Wednesday that the agency declared the registration statement for its merger with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) to be effective.

The company will announce the date of a stockholder meeting to vote on the merger within two days, it added in a press release.

“This achievement marks a significant milestone for us,” DWAC CEO Eric Swider said in a statement. “Our sincere thanks go to our shareholders for their unwavering support.”

Former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who now serves as the head of TMTG, also celebrated Wednesday’s approval.

“Truth Social was created to serve as a safe harbor for free expression and to give people their voices back,” he said in a statement. “Moving forward, we aim to accelerate our work to build a free speech highway outside the stifling stranglehold of Big Tech.”

The merger between DWAC and the parent company of Truth Social has faced multiple setbacks since talks first began in October 2021. 

A former DWAC board member and two others were charged with insider trading last June, after they allegedly made $22 million by buying stock in the blank check company ahead of the merger announcement.

The company was also fined $18 million by the SEC last July for allegedly misleading investors and the agency by failing to disclose that DWAC’s future CEO and board chairman had been in talks with TMTG before going public.

In September, DWAC received a second yearlong extension from shareholders, just days before a deadline to finalize the merger. Without the extension, the company would have been required to liquidate and return the $300 million it raised to shareholders.