Trump Media & Technology chief operating officer resigns
The chief operating officer of Truth Social's parent company has resigned, according to a regulatory filing in which the company also disclosed it must release almost 800,000 shares to one of its early investors as part of a court ruling.
COO Andrew Northwall resigned from Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. late last month, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that the company plans to "transition his duties internally." No further details were provided about the resignation. He joined the company in December 2021 according to his LinkedIn page.
The SEC filing also announced that a Delaware court ruled last month that 785,825 shares of Trump Media must be released to ARC Global Investments II, an early backer of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that took TMTG public. Both parties have been feuding over how many shares ARC was owed after Trump Media combined with DWAC. The court said that ARC and Trump Media have the option to file an appeal within 30 days after its final order.
The ruling in favor of ARC comes two weeks after former president Donald Trump and other insiders are able to sell their stake Trump Media, following the expiration of a lock-up period. Trump, who is the company's largest shareholder, has said he has "absolutely no intention of selling" his 60% stake.
Trump Media runs the social media platform Truth Social, which Trump created after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Based in Sarasota, Florida, the company has been losing money and struggling to raise revenue. It lost nearly $58.2 million last year while generating only $4.1 million in revenue, according to regulatory filings.
Shares of Trump Media have been considered a meme stock by some market experts, which is a nickname given to stocks that get caught up in buzz online and shoot way beyond what traditional analysis says they're worth. The stock has fluctuated for several months, with trading largely driven by individual investors who are typically considered less sophisticated than day traders.
Late last month Trump Media's stock fell to its lowest level ever on the first trading day that its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, was free to sell his stake in the company behind the Truth Social platform.
Trump Media, whose shares are commonly called TMTG, started trading publicly in March. When the company made its debut on the Nasdaq in March, the shares hit a high of $79.38.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology rose slightly to $16.20 before the market open on Friday.
