From a WeWork office in Miami, an obscure financier by the name of Donald J. Trump has become an unlikely power behind what is, for a meme-stock minute, the ultimate MAGA stock: the nascent media company of former President Patrick Orlando.
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Orlando s firm is set to be the money behind Trump Media and Technology Group, the former president s attempt to fight back against Big Tech. Trump says he plans to start with a social network called Truth Social but has broader ambitions to create a conglomerate - - with news, streaming and technology businesses to compete with CNN and Disney The company will go public through a merger with Orlando s Digital World Acquisition Corp. and if all goes according to plan, it will happen before the 2022 mid-term elections, enabling Trump to reach millions of supporters after Twitter and Facebook kicked off for inciting insurrection in the Capitol.
The head-snapping news that Trump was seeking to launch his own platform via a special purpose acquisition company sent Digital World s shares soaring, driven by retail investors piling in. The stock rose more than 350% Thursday, giving it a valuation of $1.8 billion and has already gained 65% in U.S. pre-market trading on Friday.
Whether Trump can successfully pull off his next business venture was, for the moment, almost beside the point. The surge represented the convergence of two powerful forces - one political, the other financial - - in a markets-meet-social media craze akin to the wild run in GameStop earlier this year.
The deal brings together an unlikely cast of characters.
Orlando, a former Deutsche Bank AG derivatives trader, started the banking firm Benessere Capital almost a decade ago. He also co-founded a sugar trading company and worked for a sugar processor.
Most recently he embraced blank check companies. Orlando is also the chief executive officer of Yunhong International, a SPAC incorporated in the Cayman Islands and whose offices are in Wuhan, China. Yunhong raised $60 million last year and was meant to merge with battery manufacturer Giga Carbon Neutrality, but the deal was scrapped in September.
Orlando didn t respond to calls and an email asking for comment.
In September, Digital World raised $293 million from a group of hedge funds including D.E. Shaw, Saba Capital Management, Highbridge Capital Management and Palm Beach, Florida-based Lighthouse Investment Partners.
Unlike most SPACs it doesn t have PIPE investors, or private investment in public equity. They buttress SPAC mergers by helping enable a deal to go through even when early investors decide to redeem their shares.
The Digital World s Board is light with people with media expertise.
Its Chief Financial Officer is Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Braganca, a member of Brazil s national congress. He is often referred to as a prince because of his claim to the defunct Brazilian throne as a descendant of Emperor Pedro II. This new platform will fight the tyranny of Bigtechs, Braganca, 52, said in an Instagram post that included a photo of himself and Trump.
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