A deal for Truth Social to merge with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company faces collapse unless shareholders in the blank-check vehicle vote on Tuesday to extend the agreement, The Post has learned.
Patrick Orlando, the CEO of Digital World Acquisition, needs 65% of shareholders in his SPAC to agree to the extension, he said Thursday in an interview with IPO Edge.
“We’re looking forward to a very successful vote,” Orlando told IPO Edge Editor-in-Chief John Jannarone in an interview Thursday.
The vote will be held Tuesday.
Orlando launched the SPAC last September and a month later, announced the deal to merge with Truth Social, the right-leaning social media platform launched by former President Donald Trump.
Digital World’s stock skyrocketed after the Truth Social deal was announced, soaring to $100 a share as recently as six months ago, well above its $10 IPO price — when it did not own any companies.
The Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into whether Digital World shareholders possibly had advance knowledge of what it was buying before listing its shares — a violation of securities laws.
Orlando said the probe is the cause for the deal being delayed. The stock traded at $23.62 on Friday.
The Post reached out to the SEC for an update on its investigation, and it declined comment.
This week it was reported that Truth Social, which has about 4 million active users, was banned from being downloaded on the Google Play Store because the company does not properly moderate its content.
Orlando said the Google Play store was not necessary for Truth Social’s success.
“I’m not an Android user so I’m not sure if Android users can get it some other way. I know many people that use it on the web. I use Truth Social on the web. I’m very happy with it, so you know, not having the Google Store hasn’t impeded me in any way from using the platform.”
