MOMENT OF (IPO) ‘TRUTH’

CEO begs backers

The boss of the company looking to take Donald Trump’s Truth Social app public has personally been canvassing small retail investors in a desperate bid to keep the deal alive, The Post has learned.

Patrick Orlando, CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp., has been calling investors with as few as 20 shares each to urge them to vote for the deal, according to sources close to the situation.

Orlando — forced to reschedule the vote six times — now believes he has the votes to consummate the merger, these people add. Orlando reportedly has scheduled a live interview with the IPO Edge media service for Nov. 22 — the day of the shareholder vote.

Orlando previously put $3 million into the deal in September to keep DWAC from liquidating after failing to get a vote approving the extension. If he doesn’t win the Nov. 22 vote, Orlando could deposit another $3 million by Dec. 8 to keep DWAC operating another three months as it waits for SEC approval to buy Truth Social.

If the deal is approved by shareholders and the SEC clears it, it will infuse the money-losing social network with $1.25 billion in cash. Voting for the deal is also in shareholders’ interests: DWAC’s shares are trading above $20 and they would receive just $10 each if the deal is liquidated.

Best for Trump

It’s in Trump’s interest, too: Faced with a Twitter ban and fading interest from TV networks, Truth Social may be his best platform as he mounts a 2024 presidential bid.

Nevertheless, Trump has backed away from promoting Truth Social’s merger. Late last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe into whether DWAC’s founders had advance knowledge of its target company before listing its shares in September 2021 — a violation of securities laws. Insiders believe Trump, already under investigation over the Jan. 6 riots, wants to avoid yet another fight with the feds.

That presents a tough climb for DWAC, which needs 65% of shareholders to approve extending the merger deadline.

A spokesperson for DWAC did not respond to a request for comment.