What happened
Shares of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) have dropped 13% for the week as of noon ET on Thursday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. This is the SPAC trying to merge with Truth Social -- a social media platform associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump. And Trump himself is in the news this week, not because of his association with Truth Social, but rather his association with other platforms.
So what
Truth Social is the platform being used by the former president after his accounts were banned elsewhere, including Meta Platforms' Facebook as well as Twitter. In November, Twitter reinstated his account. However, at the time, Trump said he wouldn't be engaging with his Twitter account, choosing to stick to Truth Social.
That may be changing. According to multiple news reports, the former president is planning to start using his old accounts on various social media platforms. This includes Twitter. But his office is also petitioning Meta Platforms to unban his Facebook account.
Investors appear to have hoped that Truth Social would grow because of former President Trump's exclusive presence on the platform. But now that he might reengage with larger platforms, Digital World's stock is selling off.
Now what
Ever since Digital World announced its intentions to merge with Truth Social in 2021, shareholders have been riding a roller coaster. There's constant speculation on what's happening with the former president and the health of the business at Truth Social.
However, these things aren't the most pressing concern for Digital World shareholders, in my opinion. There are serious questions as to whether the merger will ever actually take place.
For starters, SPAC stocks are required to find and merge with a target business within a predetermined amount of time. However, Digital World is running behind schedule. It's already extended its deadline twice, with its next deadline coming up on March 8. If it misses that deadline, it could vote to extend its deadline two more times for a total of six months.
Additionally, Digital World has lost members of its team in recent months, including two board members and the chief financial officer. The departures of these individuals doesn't necessarily mean anything bad is happening behind closed doors. But it's not ideal to be shaking up executive leadership when trying to get a deal done.
Trading at more than 50% above its initial public offering price, Digital World's shareholders are placing a lot of faith in a company with a lot of unanswered questions. Personally, I'd prefer to invest my money in other opportunities until there's more clarity here.
