Trump Media sued by co-founders ahead of DWAC merger, potential setback for lucrative deal

• Former President Donald Trump was accused in a lawsuit of trying to "drastically dilute" the value of stock shares in his social media company.
• United Atlantic Ventures alleges that Trump Media & Technology Group engaged in "wrongful 11th hour … maneuvering" to dilute UAV's minority stake in the media company.
• The Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit comes in advance of a planned merger of TMTG with a shell company called Digital World Acquisition Corp.
• The merger could deliver billions of dollars to Trump, a potential lifeline as he faces more than $500 million in civil judgments in New York.

Former President Donald Trump was accused in a lawsuit on Wednesday of trying to "drastically dilute" the value of stock shares in his social media company held by the firm's co-founders, potentially depriving them of hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

The partnership, United Atlantic Ventures, alleges that Trump Media & Technology Group engaged in "wrongful 11th hour … maneuvering" to dilute UAV's minority stake in the media company, a court filing says.

The Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit comes in advance of the planned merger of TMTG with a shell company called Digital World Acquisition Corp., which would result in the shares of the combined entity being publicly traded.

If DWAC shareholders approve the merger next month, Trump's 90% stake in TMTG could be valued at more than $3 billion, given DWAC's current share price.

On Thursday, an investment vehicle controlled by former DWAC Chairman and CEO Patrick Orlando sued in Chancery court to block the merger unless it receives a larger number of shares from the combination than DWAC proposes, Reuters reported.

The news service noted that TMTG and DWAC on Tuesday sued Orlando