Donald Trump set to sell stake in Truth Social

Donald Trump is preparing to divest his £1.7 billion stake in the company that owns his social media platform Truth Social. Recent filings have revealed that the former US president has initiated plans to offload his shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, or TMTG, which saw its share price decline by 8% following the news.

TMTG was launched by Mr Trump in 2021 after he faced a ban from Twitter in the wake of the Capitol riots. At the time, he stated that he established the platform to counter the perceived tyranny of big tech. The paperwork lodged with the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Mr Trump intends to sell all of his 114 million shares in TMTG in a series of public sales.

This development comes amid significant challenges for the company, with its share price plummeting by 63% over the past year. Investor sentiment has shifted negatively due to weak financial performance and a notable decline in user numbers. Currently, Mr Trump holds a 52% stake in TMTG, valued at around £1.7 billion, which is controlled through a trust managed by his son, Donald Trump Jr.

Shares of TMTG were listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker DJT, representing Mr Trump’s initials. Recently, TMTG made headlines by becoming the first company to list on the New York Stock Exchange’s Texas platform.

In September of last year, TMTG saw a sharp increase in share prices after Mr Trump declared to reporters that he had “absolutely no intention of selling” his stake in the social media business, expressing fondness for the platform as a means of communicating his message. Following his presidential victory last November, shares surged by more than 30% as individual investors bought in as a gesture of support.

The latest filings emerged just hours before Mr Trump’s “liberation day” announcement, during which he is expected to unveil a series of global import tariffs. As Trump continues to utilise his platform for official government announcements, the fate of TMTG remains a topic of keen interest among investors.