Merger With Trump's Venture Delivers $420 Million Windfall For Dealmaker
NDTV
Trump Media said it would receive $293 million in cash that Digital World had in a trust if no shareholder of the acquisition firm chose to cash in their shares.
A merger with former US President Donald Trump's new social media venture has delivered a potential windfall of $420 million for a former finance executive who has been trying for a decade to reinvent himself as a serial dealmaker.
Benessere Capital CEO Patrick Orlando's stake in Digital World Acquisition Corp, the Miami-based blank-check acquisition firm he is leading, was worth $423 million on Thursday after his deal to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group was announced, according to a regulatory filing and Reuters calculations.
Orlando invested only $3 million in Digital World, and is set to receive the windfall because the deal entitles him to additional compensation in shares as sponsor of the firm, the filing shows. Digital World shares ended trading on Wednesday up 357% after the deal was announced, giving the firm a market value of close to $1.5 billion.
To be sure, these gains are on paper. The terms of the SPAC do not allow Orlando to cash out until six months after the merger has been completed.
