Digital World Acquisition, the special-purpose acquisition company established to help fund Donald Trump’s failing foray into social media Toot Slomo Troth Socal Truth Social, has agreed to pay an $18 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Washington Post, but the planned merger with Trump’s media company may not be a certainty.
The SPAC agreed to an SEC report that it had “violated certain antifraud provisions”–a non-admission admission–in disclosing the timing of its discussions with Trump’s company about funding the social media venture. The deal still has to be approved by the commission itself.
In the report, DWA said it “expects to work” with Trump in funding Truth Social, but that it was seeking a one-year extension to a September 8th deadline to approve funding. The SPAC had already extended the deadline, which was first set for 2022. However, “pursuant to its electronic mail, [Trump Media] believes it is currently only bound under the Merger Agreement through Sept. 8, 2023,” meaning Trump could ditch the hundreds of millions in potential funding, forcing DWA to dissolve and refund the money to investors. “The Company remains very interested in the transaction with [Trump Media] and is hopeful [the companies] can resolve this interpretative divergence,” said DWA in the filing.