Former U.S. President Donald Trump has received a substantial stock bonus from his own media company, Trump Media Technology Group DJT. The bonus, comprising 36 million additional shares, has increased Trump’s total stake in the company to over $5.7 billion.
What Happened: Trump was awarded the shares as an “earnout bonus” from his media company, CNBC reported on Tuesday. The shares, worth approximately $1.8 billion based on Tuesday’s closing price, were given to Trump for maintaining the stock price above $17.50 for 20 consecutive trading days.
The agreement, which had three benchmarks set over 36 months, allowed the shares to be awarded in 9 million share increments. However, as the stock price never risked falling below the benchmarks, all 36 million shares were awarded at once.
These additional shares have increased Trump’s total holdings in the newly public company to 114,750,000. Trump Media Technology Group, the owner of the Truth Social app, went public in March. Trump is prohibited from selling the newly awarded shares until a six-month lockup period expires.
The company’s stock price has seen a 50% surge in the past week, following weeks of sharp declines after its Nasdaq debut on March 26. Trump was already the largest shareholder of the company, which was created to host Trump and his supporters after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Why It Matters: The former President stood to gain $1.26 billion worth of additional shares in Trump Media & Technology Group if the company met certain performance-based milestones, as per the original SPAC merger agreement with Digital World Acquisition Corporation.
On the day of the bonus announcement, Trump Media & Technology Group’s shares were trading higher. The company had clarified to shareholders that if shares are currently on loan by brokerage firms to facilitate short selling, they can ask their broker to recall their shares.
Price Action: Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. closed at $49.93 on Tuesday, a 6.94% increase from the previous close, according to Benzinga Pro. The stock has a 52-week high of $79.38 and a 52-week low of $22.55.
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