Trump social media deal can't close on time, needs extension, buyer says

[August 06, 2022]  (Reuters) - Digital World Acquisition Corp, the blank-check company taking former U.S. President Donald Trump's Truth Social app public, on Friday announced a special meeting of shareholders to approve an extension to the cut-off date to complete the merger.  

The Truth social network logo is seen displayed behind a woman holding a smartphone in this picture illustration taken February 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

"While we are using our best efforts to complete the Business Combination as soon as practicable, our board of directors believes that there will not be sufficient time before the Termination Date to complete the Business Combination," Digital World said in a SEC filing.

The termination date to complete the merger is Sept. 8, 2022. Digital World is seeking to extend the date by 12 months.

The announcement comes amid probes by U.S. regulators over the proposed merger.

Digital World said in June its board of directors had received subpoenas from a Federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York, while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority had also made requests for additional information on the deal.

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, the creator of Truth Social, in October agreed to merge with Digital World and was expecting the deal to close by the second half of this year.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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