Shareholders have approved a merger plan that would see Donald Trump's social media platform listed on the stock market, a move that could provide a financial lifeline to the former president as he faces possible seizure of his assets.
After numerous delays, investors voted to merge Digital World Acquisition and Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, company officials said in a webcast of the vote.
The move gives Trump about $3 billion at a time when he is facing a $454 million fine in a fraud case brought by New York state, though he may not be able to access the money for months.
The presidential candidate founded Truth Social after being permanently banned from Facebook and Twitter for allegedly inciting more violence, the sites said at the time.
The former president was later reinstated to the two platforms, which had taken the step in response to his supporters' attack on the Capitol in Washington to prevent the certification of his election defeat to current President Joe Biden.
The gains, which Trump is expected to reap, come from millions of shares he owns in Trump Media Group, which is now worth billions of dollars after Friday's vote to merge it with Digital World, a shell company created specifically to merge with another company that conducts business operations.
But this type of agreement requires major shareholders like Trump to hold the shares for six months before selling them.
Trump, who has secured the Republican nomination for this year's presidential election, has appealed the $355 million fine plus interest, after a New York court ruled that he, his two sons and his company, the Trump Organization, lied for years about the value of his assets and deceived banks and insurance companies.
A 30-day deadline to pay the money expires on Monday, raising questions about how Trump will respond.
