A Delaware judge has decided not to stop a shareholder vote on a merger involving Trump Media & Technology Group, which could lead to a $4 billion benefit for former President Donald Trump on March 22.
Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III stated on Saturday that he would not delay the vote despite objections by Trump Media co-founders Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss regarding the former president's plan to reduce their 8.6% ownership in the company through the merger.
Litinsky and Moss, who were contestants on Trump’s TV show “The Apprentice” and later partnered with him to establish Trump Media, claim that the former president aims to increase the company's shares to decrease their ownership and potentially generate billions to settle legal claims.
Glasscock chose not to hold a hearing on the contested merger prior to the March 22 vote, as he mentioned on a Zoom call that if Trump agrees to place the additional shares in an escrow account during the dispute, then “maybe the whole thing will go away.”
Officials at Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank-check company set to conduct the vote, have already agreed to place the disputed stock in a separate escrow account in response to a lawsuit filed by Patrick Orlando’s ARC Global Investments II. ARC disputed the proposed conversion rate for its founder’s stake, arguing that it should receive more shares in the combined company. Orlando is Digital World’s former CEO.
Digital World’s stock value has risen significantly this year, potentially valuing Trump’s ownership at billions of dollars, at least on paper. This could serve as a financial rescue for the former president, who is facing substantial legal judgments from New York’s lawsuit alleging fraudulent valuations of his assets, as well as E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit over statements Trump made regarding her allegations of sexual assault. Trump posted a bond of nearly $92 million in the latter case on Friday.
