Wall Street billionaire and Republican megadonor Jeff Yass is a major investor in TikTok’s parent company and the largest investor in the shell company that recently merged with former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company. He was also an institutional shareholder.
Mr. Yas’ trading firm, Susquehanna International Group, owns about 2% of Digital World Acquisition Corp., which merged with Trump Media & Technology Group on Friday, according to a December regulatory filing. It became clear that The stock is approximately 605,000 shares and is worth approximately $22 million based on Digital World’s last stock price.
It’s unclear whether Mr. Susquehanna still owns these stocks, as major investors only periodically disclose their holdings to regulators. But if Yas retains his stake, his company will become one of Trump Media’s largest institutional shareholders when the merger begins trading this week.
Digital World’s shares have risen about 140% this year as Trump’s nearing merger with the parent company of his social media platform Truth Social made it clear that Trump would become the Republican presidential nominee.
“Mr. Susquehanna is a market maker and has no financial interest in Trump Media,” the company said in a statement. “The company’s long positions are offset by short positions of equal size.”
The company used offsetting securities to minimize gains and losses on its stock, according to regulatory filings.
The company’s statement did not comment on whether it still owns Digital World stock or the relationship between Mr. Yas and Mr. Trump.
There are multiple reasons why Yas has been in the news lately. Yass’ company is a major contributor to Republican candidates and political action committees supporting liberal and conservative causes, including the Club for Growth, and is a major shareholder in TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. . U.S. investment firms Susquehanna, BlackRock, and General Atlantic hold 60% of ByteDance.
The House of Representatives passed a bill this month that would force ByteDance to sell Chinese-controlled social media company TikTok.
The Growth Club has been lobbying Congressional Republicans to oppose any attempts to ban TikTok if it remains controlled by China, and Yass has helped conservative groups fund that effort. . (The Growth Club opposed Trump’s re-election campaign, but appears to have reconciled with Trump).
Trump had supported banning TikTok in the United States, but recently reversed his stance. A few weeks ago, he acknowledged meeting briefly with Yass (described in a 2022 Wall Street Journal column as “no Trumper”), but that the two had never talked about TikTok. said it had never happened.
A source close to Trump’s campaign said Yas is expected to make large donations to groups supporting the former president’s political activities. Mr. Yass said through a spokesman that he has never donated to Mr. Trump and has no plans to donate.
Susquehanna, which uses mathematical models to facilitate trades in thousands of stocks, is not the only company trying to profit from the digital world. Digital World said in February that it had raised $50 million from a group of institutional investors to cover costs related to the merger. Investors lent money to the company that could be converted into stock. Investors in the deal have not yet been disclosed.
Collectively, hedge funds and trading houses held about 5% of Digital World’s 30 million outstanding shares at the end of last year. The majority of Digital World’s roughly 400,000 shareholders are individual investors, many of whom are Trump supporters.
The soaring value of Digital World stocks this year has increased the value of Mr. Trump’s 79 million Trump Media shares by billions of dollars. Mr. Trump will also be issued a type of stock that will give him at least 55% voting power on all shareholder actions.
The merger was completed just before Trump’s Monday deadline to secure bail to cover a $454 million fine imposed by a judge in a civil fraud case.
The former president’s Trump Media stock could be a financial lifeline to raise the cash needed to buy the bonds. But that would require Trump Media’s seven-member board to lift restrictions that prohibit it from selling stock or using it as collateral for bonds over the next six months. be.
The board includes Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., as well as three former members of the Trump administration. Robert Lighthizer, former U.S. Trade Representative; Linda McMahon, former Commissioner of the Small Business Administration;
Mr. McMahon is chairing a major fundraiser for Mr. Trump scheduled for April 6 in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a copy of the invitation. The event is co-hosted by billionaire investor John Paulson and includes a number of Wall Street investors as chairs. Mr. Yass is not mentioned as one of them.
Maggie Haberman Contributed to the report.