In business, things can sometimes turn out quite differently, which is why it became clear when United Atlantic Ventures (UAV) wanted to offload almost 11 million shares of Trump Media. Just to clarify what is happening, let’s make it easier to understand:
What Happened?
United Atlantic Ventures (UAV), a major shareholder of Trump Media, the parent company of the Truth Social – the social network co-founded by former US president Donald Trump – resolved to dispose of the vast majority of its holding. Now, when we have said ‘majority’, we mean, of course, 11 million shares!
This is still a good strategy because a federal judge recently green-lighted UAV to do just that a few weeks ago! They let go of nearly all the company’s assets; Trump Media was all they had in their possession, 100 shares to be precise.
Why Did UAV Sell?
There’s a tale behind why any individual wants to sell, and here, all of it can be traced back to two “Apprentice” wannabes. UAV is currently owned by Andrew Litinsky and Wes Moss who, at one time, was on Donald Trump’s TV show. They actively endorsed him and contributed to the establishment of Trump Media jointly with Trump in 2021. However, as in most business associations, things were not all positive and they fell out with Trump. There was some legal toing and froing before UAV got the go ahead from the contrary to sell its shares after a lock up period which was on September 19.
How Much Money Did UAV Make?
Sadly we still do not know how much raw cash UAV made from this monumental sell off but estimates place it at between 128 million USD and 170 million USD.
Now that Trump media has had its moment in the sun what has come of it?
It was after UAV offloaded its stock this is a position that only two major shareholders hold large chunks in the company. Of course, 114.7 million shares of the company belong to Trump himself, which is 56,4% of the company’s stocks. He’s immune to it and has been quoted saying he has “absolutely no intention of selling”.
The last candidate with more than 5% of the company’s shares is ARC Global Investments II LLC holding close to eleven million of shares.
The Stock Rise and Decline of DJT
When the Trump Media first offered the stocks the price skyrocketed to a tremendous Process eight at $79.38 per share. The public wanted to invest in it primarily because of Trump’s name and power behind it. At one point or another, Trump Media has benefited from a push to the limelight now boasting a market capitalization of over $10 billion.
However, what comes up must come down. Since then the stock has plunged by more than 80% and the company is now worth less than $2.8 billion. Simply put, this stock has had more significant fluctuations than one would hope to see on a toy pogo stick at an inflatable trampoline center.
The Meme Stock Vibe
A number of authors that focus on the financial market fact have noted that DJT stock operates almost like a meme stock. What’s that? That is, memes are much more often based on expectations and the desire of the audience rather than financial statements and successful activities.
For Trump Media, such fluctuations were stimulated not by the financial performance of the company, but by Trump within its framework. In fact, a recent quarterly financial statement showed Trump Media had accumulated losses of approximately $343.9 million, with revenues of less than $2 million.
