A Merger With Trump’s Social Media Venture Could Yield a $420 Million Windfall
A merger with former US President Donald Trump’s new social media venture has delivered a potential windfall of $420 million for a former finance executive who has been trying for a decade to reinvent himself as a serial dealmaker.
Benessere Capital CEO Patrick Orlando’s stake in Digital World Acquisition Corp, the Miami-based blank-check acquisition firm he is leading, was worth $423 million on Thursday after his deal to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group was announced, according to a regulatory filing and Reuters calculations.
Orlando invested only $3 million in Digital World, and is set to receive the windfall because the deal entitles him to additional compensation in shares as sponsor of the firm, the filing shows. Digital World shares ended trading on Wednesday up 357% after the deal was announced, giving the firm a market value of close to $1.5 billion.
