Trump SPAC Digital World Acquisition ( NASDAQ: DWAC ) rose 4.5% in premarket trading as SPAC's sponsor deposited $2.88 million to extend the time company needs to compete its deal with Trump's social media company by three months.
SPAC sponsor ARC Global Investments II said late Thursday that it deposited the funds into DWAC's trust account to extend the time to consummate a deal until Dec. 8 after the original deadline expired, according to a statement. This is the first of two three-month extensions under the company's governing documents.
The payment came after DWAC CEO Patrick Orlando said late Thursday that the holder vote on a deal extension was adjourned until Oct. 10 as the SPAC needed more time to get retail investors to vote for the extension for a merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Trump's social media platform Truth Social.
Trump Media released a statement after the vote was adjourned and suggested their may be political motivations behind the SEC's scrutiny of the combination.
“The SEC has needlessly delayed its review of our proposed merger, causing real and unnecessary financial harm to DWAC investors, roughly 90 percent of whom are small, retail shareholders whom the SEC is chartered to protect," TMTG said in the statement. "Despite its standard practice to provide comments within 30 days, the SEC has failed to give meaningful feedback on DWAC’s registration statement for a stunning 115 days and counting. In the interests of simple fairness, the SEC needs to set aside any improper political considerations and bring its review to a swift conclusion.”
The extension comes after DWAC shares plunged 11% during regular trading on Tuesday after the SPAC adjourned a meeting until Thursday to try to gain additional support for a one-year extension of the deal. The shares dived after Reuters reported earlier Tuesday that DWAC failed to win the 65% approval needed for an extension to complete its deal with Trump's social media company.
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Trump SPAC Digital World gains after sponsor pays $2.9M to extend deal timeline