Former President Donald Trump’s media company is suing two of its co-founders, who were also on Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice,” alleging they mismanaged the company and should be stripped of their shares in the company. newly public company.
The lawsuit was filed March 24 in Florida state court, just a day before Trump Media & Technology Group. debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Trump Media, whose main asset is the fledgling social media platform Truth Social, has soared in its first two days of trading and currently has a valuation of around $6.8 billion.
The Trump Media & Technology Group lawsuit alleges that co-founders Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss “failed spectacularly” to build the company and create an effective corporate governance structure. As part of their original deal with Trump, the co-founders received 8.6 million shares of Trump Media, currently valued at $432 million, which the lawsuit seeks to recover.
The lawsuit also accuses Litinsky and Moss of being responsible for Truth Social’s behavior. eventful beginningsclaiming to have hired a “deficient” team to manage the development of the social media platform and created a “toxic company culture”.
“The launch of Truth Social did not go smoothly, leading a hostile press to criticize the company for long user wait times and technical failures, to the detriment of the company’s business reputation. company,” the lawsuit claims.
Litinsky and Moss’ attorney, Christopher J. Clark, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Trump Media’s filing follows a complaint filed in February in Delaware Court of Chancery by Litinsky and Moss, which seeks to prevent the former president from taking actions they say would significantly reduce their participation combined 8.6% in Trump Media.
Trump, meanwhile, owns about 57% of Trump Media, a stake valued at about $4 billion — at least on paper — based on the current stock price. Trump and other major shareholders are currently subject to a “lock-up” provision that prohibits them from selling shares for at least six months.
—With reporting from the Associated Press.
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