Trump SPAC Sues to Force Board Member’s Vote for Media Deal

(Bloomberg) — The company planning to take Trump Media & Technology Group public sued to force its biggest investor, ARC Global Investments II, to vote in favor of the deal before a critical deadline this week.

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The suit, filed in New York state court Tuesday, is the latest legal battle between Digital World Acquisition Corp. and its former chairman, Patrick Orlando. While he was ousted last year, Orlando still holds significant leverage over the company through his ability to influence the voting shares of ARC.

With the merger vote March 22, Digital World insists that ARC has to vote in favor of the deal pursuant to a 2021 agreement, at the time of the special purpose acquisition company’s initial public offering. If the Digital World takeover of Trump Media proceeds, it could provide a windfall of as much as $4 billion to former President Donald Trump as he faces hundreds of millions of dollars in legal verdicts.

“ARC must vote in favor of the merger pursuant to the unambiguous terms of the letter agreement,” DWAC said in the suit. “There are no exceptions despite ARC’s managing member Patrick Orlando’s desire to hold ARC’s vote hostage for his personal gain.”

Orlando, who still sits on DWAC’s board, has challenged how much stock ARC shareholders would receive in Trump Media & Technology Group. He didn’t return messages seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Digital World and Trump Media have also sued Orlando in Florida over the deal.

The March 22 date for the shareholder vote on DWAC’s proposed acquisition of Trump Media survived an attempt by Trump Media co-founders Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss to halt the vote over complaints that their 8.6% stake in Trump’s company would be diluted.

Read more: Judge Clears Way For Trump Media To Hold Merger Vote

–With assistance from Jef Feeley.

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