So Trump is on the verge of gaining what could theoretically be a massive windfall from his social media company. But it will likely come too late to save him from the financial peril he’s facing now. Via Politico:
Investors on Friday are expected to sign off on a deal to allow Trump’s new venture, which operates Truth Social, to be publicly traded on Wall Street, clearing the way for a possible multibillion-dollar payday for the former president.
But Trump’s stake will be tied up for much of the year under a so-called lock-up agreement, a normal arrangement for such deals to ensure that insiders don’t bail as soon as a company goes public and push down the stock price.
Trump could try to obtain a waiver from that rule, but even then he wouldn’t be able to sell more than a small fraction of his stake at any given time — up to 1 percent of the outstanding shares every quarter. And if he eventually does unload a large quantity of stock, the ramifications could be significant, according to investors and others watching the deal. That’s because Trump himself is the heart of the venture, they say, and any sign that his interest is waning could chill investors.
“It’s simply trading on Trump’s name,” said Kristi Marvin, founder of SPACInsider, a research firm. “People aren’t buying this because they like the fundamentals — they’re buying this because they like Trump.”
He can't sell his shares for six months, so God only knows what it will be worth then. He also is the target of four partner lawsuits, one of which claims Trump made fraudulent misrepresentations about the company.
Oh dear. I am very, very sad that Trump won't be able to save his own ass with the public trading of Truth Social. And I am also very sad that Trump supporters are going to spend their hard-earned money on this, forgetting the first rule of contemporary politics: Everything Trump touches dies.
