Hedge funds that invested in the blank check buyout firm that struck an $875 million deal to merge with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s brand-new social media company are set to make five times their investment, regulatory filings reveal.
It is the largest gain investors in so-called special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have ever recorded on the first day after announcing a deal, according to SPAC Research.
Investor excitement had evaporated in recent months as several companies that merged with SPACs failed to meet their bullish forecasts and retail investors suffered losses.
But the hedge funds that invested in Digital World’s IPO will quintuple their investments after Digital World’s shares rose more than 400% following their deal with the newly formed Trump Media and Technology Group, trading at around $50 late Thursday afternoon, giving Digital World a market value of $1.7 billion.
Hedge funds included D.E. Shaw, which has $60 billion in assets, and Yakira Capital Management, which invested $472 million, according to a regulatory filing.
Meteora Capital Partners, a subsidiary of major SPAC investor Glazer Capital LLC, Sander Gerber’s Hudson Bay Capital, Boothbay Fund Management, Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital, Shaolin Capital Management, K2 Principal Fund and Radcliffe Capital Corp, another major SPAC investor, also invested, the documents show.