Trump Media and Technology Group announced the addition of nuclear fusion technology to its portfolio Thursday in a $6 billion merger of equals with TAE Technolgies, an emerging private developer of nuclear power.
Under terms of the merger, TAE and TMTG shareholders will each hold approximately 50 percent of the combined company on a fully diluted basis. The $6 billion deal value is based on a TMTG share price of $53.89 — the company’s 30-day volume weighted average share price prior to the December 17 market close.
TMTG is providing TAE with $300 million in cash, $200 million at signing and another $100 million with the filing of the combined company Form S-4. TMTG is controlled by a revocable trust owned by President Donald J. Trump.
Upon closing, Trump Media & Technology Group will be the holding company for Truth Social, Truth+, Truth.Fi, TAE, TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences, and other companies associated with the merged parties.
Legal advisors on the deal include a Texas-based Baker Botts team led by partners Travis Wofford (Houston), Sarah Dodson (Dallas) and Andrew Schulte (Houston) for TAE and DLA Piper as outside legal counsel for TMTG.
Financial advisors included Yorkville Securities and Clear Street for TMTG, and Barclays for TAE.
The Baker Botts corporate team also include Parker Hinman (Houston), Thomas Blackwell (Houston), Blake Vick (Houston), Jack Hennessy (Houston), Spencer Russo (Houston), Treyton Zanutto (Houston), Danny David (Houston), Richard Harper (New York) and John Lawrence (Dallas). Other lawyers involved include Hugh Hollman (Washington, D.C.); Brendan Quigley (Washington, D.C.); George Fibbe (Houston) and Michael Bodosky (Washington, D.C.) on regulatory issues; Michael Bresson (Houston), Jared Meier (Houston) on taxes; Paul Morico (Houston) on IP; Ron Aizen (New York) on benefits and Paul Luther (Washington, D.C.) and Ted Posner (Washington, D.C.) on trade.
Founded in 1998 and formerly known as Tri Alpha Energy, TAE has been working to develop commercial scale fusion-nuclear reactors for the commercial sector. The company had already raised $1.3 billion in private capital from Google, Chevron Technology Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Sumitomo Corporation, Charles Schwab and others.
Nuclear fusion long considered the cleanest but most elusive commercial nuclear technology passed a major milestone in December 2022 at the Lawrence Livermore National Ignition Facility achieved what is referred to as “target gain” — producing more energy from a fusion target than that expended to release it. Since then, several companies — among then TAE, Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Helion Energy — have vied to produced the first successful commercial applications of nuclear fusion.