Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) holds a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol following a private visit to the Holocaust Museum, to express contrition for previous remarks about Jewish people, in Washington, U.S. June 14, 2021.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has invested up to $50,000 in the SPAC stock linked to former President Donald Trump’s planned social media platform.
According to a public disclosure, Greene purchased a stake in Digital World Acquisition Corp., or DWAC, on Friday. The stake is worth at least $15,000 but no more than $50,000.
DWAC, which is a special purpose acquisition company, last week said it would merge with Trump’s planned new social media company the Trump Media & Technology Group.
That triggered a buying mania among retail investors in DWAC shares over two days last week, which drove the stock up more than 800%. The SPAC was at one point the most traded name on Fidelity’s platform, and the ticker DWAC has been among the most mentioned on Reddit’s WallStreetBets chatroom.
But based on DWAC’s price fluctuations and when Greene said she made her investment on Friday, it’s almost certain she has lost money on the trade.
On Friday, DWAC opened at $118.80 a share and dipped as low as $67.96 a share. It’s now trading around $54 a share. That means, at best, Greene has lost about 20% on her investment.
Greene’s office offered little clarity on the trade when asked for comment Wednesday morning.
“This transaction was reported in compliance with House rules and provides all required details about the transaction,” the Georgia Republican’s office said in an email.
Shares have pulled back nearly 40% this week — and were last down 5% on Wednesday — but the stock is still trading above $50 per share, five times higher than the SPAC IPO price of $10.
At least two hedge funds that were among early investors in DWAC — Lighthouse Investment Partners and Saba Capital Management — dumped their sizable stakes last week after learning of the SPAC’s target company.
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SPACs are a special type of company that have no commercial operations.
Instead, they fundraise aggressively through an initial public offering and eventually merge with a smaller company that meets the goals of the SPAC’s prospectus. Also known as “blank-check” companies, SPACs have grown popular on Wall Street in recent years as a way for both private-equity firms and the general public to invest in young firms.
On Tuesday, Trump issued a statement about the new social media app he plans to roll out as well as an on-demand video streaming service.
“To take on Big Tech censorship, we are creating a ‘Big Tent’ platform: Truth Social,” Trump said. “We are inviting people of all political stripes, and all different viewpoints, to come and participate once again in the great American debate. That’s what our country is supposed to be about.”
Trump’s plans for a social media app come months after he was banned by Twitter and Facebook for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot by his supporters.
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