Trump Media in $6B Fusion Merger With TAE
Key Points
- Trump Media & Technology Group will merge with fusion firm TAE in an all‑stock deal valued at over $6 billion.
- Shareholders of Trump Media and TAE are each expected to own about 50% of the combined company.
- The merged firm plans to start building a 50‑megawatt utility‑scale fusion power plant in 2026.
- Trump Media shares jumped more than 30% after the merger announcement despite steep year‑to‑date losses.
All-stock merger creates fusion-focused Trump Media
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the owner of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, has agreed to merge with privately held fusion power developer TAE Technologies in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $6 billion. Announced on Thursday, the deal will create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies. Under the terms, shareholders of each company are expected to own approximately 50% of the combined entity on a fully diluted basis once the transaction closes, which is targeted for mid-2026 subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The agreement values each TAE common share at $53.89 based on TMTG’s recent 30‑day volume-weighted average price. Upon completion, Trump Media & Technology Group will become the holding company for Truth Social, streaming service Truth+, fintech unit Truth.Fi, TAE, and TAE’s subsidiaries TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.
Strategic shift from social media to energy and assets
The merger marks a significant strategic shift for Trump Media, which launched in 2021 as a conservative-leaning social media business and has since expanded into financial assets and cryptocurrency. The company mainly generates revenue from advertising on Truth Social and has consistently reported losses, including a $54.8 million loss on revenue of $972,900 in the quarter ended 30 September 2025. Despite limited operating revenue, TMTG has amassed about $3.1 billion in financial assets, largely through digital asset investments and partnerships, including a large bitcoin reserve and other crypto holdings. Management has described the TAE deal as transforming Trump Media into a combined clean energy and financial assets company, extending its “America first” positioning into the energy sector.
Planned fusion plants to target AI-driven power demand
TMTG and TAE say the combined company plans to site and begin construction in 2026 on what they describe as the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant, initially sized at 50 megawatts electric, with additional plants planned in the 350 to 500 megawatt range. The companies frame the deal as a response to surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers and other power-intensive digital infrastructure. Fusion power, which generates energy by fusing light atomic nuclei, is presented in company statements as a potential source of abundant, carbon-free electricity with relatively little long-term radioactive waste compared with conventional nuclear fission. While no commercial fusion plant is yet operating on the grid, TAE says it has safely built and operated five experimental reactors over more than 25 years of research and development and has raised more than $1.3 billion from investors including Google, Chevron, Goldman Sachs and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas.
Financing terms and governance of the combined company
As part of the transaction, Trump Media has agreed to provide up to $200 million in cash to TAE at signing, with an additional $100 million available upon the initial filing of the merger registration statement. The companies say TMTG’s balance sheet and public-market access are intended to accelerate TAE’s path from experimental reactors to commercial, utility-scale plants. Leadership of the merged firm will be shared: Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes and TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer are slated to serve as co‑chief executives. The combined company is expected to be overseen by a nine-member board, including Nunes, Donald Trump Jr., Binderbauer and investor Michael B. Schwab, who is expected to be chairman, along with additional independent directors to be named later.
Market reaction and context for Trump Media stock
The announcement triggered a sharp rally in Trump Media’s shares, which trade under the ticker DJT. Pre‑market and early-session reports showed gains ranging from about 21% to more than 35%, with the stock up roughly 30% to 37% at various points in Thursday trading and on pace for its biggest one-day rise since March 2024. The move comes after a difficult year in which DJT had fallen about 69% through Wednesday, even as the broader S&P 500 index gained. Analysts at Wedbush Securities described the combination as a major play on creating the first public nuclear fusion company in the United States and highlighted TAE’s existing investor base and technical track record. The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards and will proceed through the regulatory and shareholder approval process, including a planned registration statement on Form S‑4.
Key Takeaways
- The merger recasts Trump Media from a loss-making social media operator into a diversified holding company spanning social platforms, fintech and fusion energy.
- TAE gains a direct route to public markets and substantial new capital, while Trump Media leverages its balance sheet to enter a capital-intensive, long-horizon energy business.
- The combined company’s plan to start building a 50 MW fusion plant in 2026 positions it squarely in the race to supply power for AI data centers, despite fusion’s unresolved commercialization challenges.
References
- 1. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9kv9lld38o
- 2. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-media-djt-stock-fusion-energy-tae-technologies-donald-trump/
- 3. https://finance.yahoo.com/m/c40c9bf7-198a-35ea-881f-f84f8d0e5111/nuclear-power-ceo-says-cash%2C.html
- 4. https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/12/18/trump-media-goes-nuclear-surges-37-on-bold-6-billion-fusion-merger/
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