Following news that an upcoming TRUTH Social app endorsed by former US President Donald Trump has set a target launch date of February 21, shares of the firm linked to the app spiked dramatically, CNBC reported on Thursday.
Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank-check provider, had its stock rise about 20% at the end of the trading day, on much higher-than-average activity, while the app was reported to be listed on the Apple's App Store's docs, according to CNBC.
The app, according to Reuters, is now available for pre-order ahead of its launch on Presidents' Day in the United States. And the app reportedly includes features similar to Twitter, such as the ability to follow other users and trending topics. "Truth" will be the messaging equivalent of a tweet.
Trump's company is being promoted as a viable alternative to social media behemoths Twitter and Meta (ex-Facebook), who have both banned him on the basis of claims that he instigated the insurgency at the US Capitol on January 6 last year.
Thus, when DWAC and the Trump Media & Technology Group announced their merger in October, the stock price of DWAC skyrocketed from roughly $10 per share to as high as $175 per share as individual investors flocked to the company. However, in recent months, that price has dropped significantly.
On Thursday, it finished at $60.27 per share.
The stock price of TMTG is reportedly evaluated at $5.3 billion.
DWAC is a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and like other SPACs, it was formed with no core business other than to acquire cash from the public stock markets with the intention of selecting a firm to merge with or buy with that money in two years or less.
Before the merger transaction was announced in December, DWAC revealed in a public filing that two financial regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, had launched investigations into stock trading and interactions with Trump's organization at the request of Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.