Sam Becker, Fast Company:

In a surprising move, Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT) said on Thursday that it is fusing itself to a fusion company.

The company will merge with TAE Technologies—a privately held fusion energy firm that’s backed by Alphabet, Chevron Technology Ventures, and others—in a deal that’s worth more than $6 billion.

It’s an all-stock deal, which is expected to close sometime next year, and is a huge and eyebrow-raising move for Trump Media, which is best known as the owner of President Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.

Of course. It makes perfect sense for a social media company owned by the president of the United States to merge with a fusion energy firm that’s funded by Google, Chevron, and—checks notes—the government of Russia.

This has so far been great news for investors in DJT, which is up 40% today on the news (but still down 63% from its 2025 high).

From the press release:

Upon closing, shareholders of each company will own approximately 50% of the combined company on a fully diluted equity basis.

Donald Trump owns 41% of Trump Media—which he controls via a revocable trust of which he is the sole beneficiary and his son, Donald Trump Jr., is the sole trustee—garnering him about 20.5% ownership of the merged company, worth over $1.2 billion. I’m sure there won’t be any conflicts of interest.

The companies have posted supplemental slides to their respective websites, all of which can be accessed at tmtgcorp.com and tae.com.

tae.com:

Truly confidence-inspiring.

Deal to combine TMTG’s access to significant capital […]

TMTG is controlled by the president of the United States, who has the power to regulate the energy industry, and he knows people. That capital can come from anywhere—sovereign wealth funds, billionaires, American taxpayers. We don’t know. We don't care.

The transaction will combine the strength of TMTG’s strong balance sheet with TAE’s leading technologies. As part of the transaction, TMTG has agreed to provide up to $200 million of cash to TAE at signing and an additional $100 million is available upon initial filing of the Form S-4.

TMTG lost $54.8 million on $973,000 in revenue last quarter. Investor’s Business Daily: “Trump Media stock has a low 1 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. The stock also has a 6 Relative Strength Rating and an 11 EPS Rating.”

This is not a good business.

TAE’s next-generation fusion technology is poised for commercial application. After more than 25 years of research and development, TAE has significantly reduced fusion reactor size, cost and complexity. TAE has built and safely operated five fusion reactors […]

Fast Company: “Notably, there are not currently any operating fusion power plants. […] Further, the latest annual survey from Fusion Industry Association found that 75% of respondents don’t expect fusion power plants to start supplying energy to the grid until the 2030s.”

This is not a good business.

[…] and raised more than $1.3 billion in private capital to date from Google, Chevron Technology Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, NEA, the visionary family offices of Addison Fischer, the Samberg Family, Charles Schwab, and others.

And it’s high time we cashed out.

The transaction […] is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Did we mention that the president of the United States is a 20.5% shareholder, now? We anticipate no regulatory issues.

The mission of Trump Media is to end Big Tech's assault on free speech by opening up the Internet and giving people their voices back. Trump Media operates Truth Social, a social media platform established as a safe harbor for free expression amid increasingly harsh censorship by Big Tech corporations, as well as Truth +, a TV streaming platform focusing on family-friendly live TV channels and on-demand content. Trump Media is also launching Truth.Fi, a financial service and FinTech brand incorporating America First investment vehicles.

Harnessing the power of the sun is a natural next step.

What incentive was there for TMTG to merge now with TAE? The subhed of their pitch deck (“Advancing America’s energy dominance and powering the A.I. revolution”) offers one clue. Another is noted by TechCrunch:

Last week, industry representatives met with Energy Department officials, urging them to help direct billions of dollars toward fusion projects, and earlier this year, the DOE announced a new roadmap to guide commercial efforts in the sector […]

Ah. Coincidental, I’m sure, that the president’s administration is urged to invest in America’s fusion future, and, before doing so, the president’s personal company invests first.

Is that what they mean by “front-running”?

Or is it still cronyism?