Shares of Digital World Acquisition, the special acquisition company appointed to facilitate the initial public offering of former US President Donald Trump’s social media platform, hit their highest point in 19 months on Monday. This occurred after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew his 2024 presidential candidacy. Stock values increased significantly, reaching $41, a 55% increase, the highest since June 2022, when DeSantis announced the halt of his campaign two days before the New Hampshire primary. Additionally, DeSantis expressed support for Trump over Republican challenger Nikki Haley.
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Shares of Rumble, a video-sharing platform popular among conservatives, also saw a 33% rise to $4.77 on Monday after announcing a partnership with media company Barstool Sports. On the other hand, software developer Phunware, which was hired by Trump’s 2020 presidential re-election campaign to create a mobile app, saw its shares rise 40% to 36 cents.
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It’s important to note that despite these increases, Digital World shares are still below the levels seen in March 2022 following the merger with Trump Media & Technology Group. This group controls Trump’s Truth Social social media platform, which has faced multiple delays since its announcement in October 2021.
Digital World Acquisition said last month that it expects to complete the merger with Trump Media & Technology Group in the first quarter. Trump promised to focus exclusively on Truth Social after being banned from Twitter, but returned to X (formerly Twitter) in August, months after the ban was reversed by the platform’s new owner, Elon Musk.