There is no doubt that former president Donald J. Trump is a real estate mogul. He is a multi billionaire with many real estate holdings around the world, key among them being the iconic Trump Tower in New York. After vacating the office of the POTUS, not much has been heard from Trump except reposting of his press releases. Recently, however, major media outlets around the world have been flooded with stories and interviews about the Trump SPAC. This is one of Trump's major successes and is bound to make him a lot of money. Read further to learn more about the company.

Trump SPAC Explained

A special acquisition company (SPAC) is a type of blank check company, more closely related to an exchange traded fund than it is to a traditional company. A blank check company contains several types of securities that can be structured to fit the investment goals of the shareholders. One of these types of securities is called an "unit". A unit can be viewed as similar to a share of stock, except that instead of giving you ownership in an actual company, it gives you limited rights to certain assets of the company. These rights are limited because they are usually restricted to receiving proceeds from certain sale transactions of the company.

The Trump SPAC was created with the intent to use the proceeds from the sale of units to buy up portions of other companies by buying large numbers of their shares on the market. The Trump SPAC will also use the proceeds from sale of units on other transactions like acquisitions or paying down debt.

Trumps new venture is a special acquisition company known as Digital World Acquisition Corp. The SPAC trades under the ticker - DWAC - on Nasdaq and other major exchanges. All the frenzy about the Trump SPAC emanates from the recent announcement of DWAC acquisition of TMTG. After the announcement the company stock grew by more than 800% in the first two days of the announcement. So far, the stock has grown by over 1,000% and has been compared to the AMC and GameStop stock by Reddit's WallStreetBets. It is interesting to note that it's not just DWAC stock that is rising fast at the moment. Phunware, a software startup massively involved in the Trump campaign also saw a rapid rise in stock prices due to the Trump effect.

How He is Backing the SPAC

Trump has gone public to dismiss major social media companies for banning him, noting that while the Taliban thrives on social media, major companies have banned him from their platforms. His goal was to acquire TRUTH social, a social media giant that can take on big tech. Going public with his statements is what attracted tech investors and his followers and convinced them to purchase this meme stock. DWAC announced that it would be acquiring the Trump Media & Technology Group popular for its Miss Universe Pageant rights.

In a press conference at the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump stated that this issue is a matter of life and death. “You would think a company like Facebook would understand the seriousness of a threat like ISIS. The fact remains that Facebook banned me from their platform.”

“I have been calling for a major investigation into these companies that have been silencing so many voices,” Trump said. “They are controlling what we can and cannot see. It’s a dangerous thing when they are controlling your information.

A Canadian company named Sphere 3D signed a deal with Gryphon Digital Mining in a reverse merger. The ultimate end of the deal is to transform Sphere 3D into a fully recognized Bitcoin entity. Since the merger, Sphere 3D has been able to raise about $192 million to buy 60,00 servers. The result of this is that Gryphon is expecting to become a prominent investor in the Bitcoin world.

What will be the market cap of the company after the merger?

Although reverse mergers have their advantages, the truth is that they, too, have their downplays. Nonetheless, the advantages of the merger always overwhelm the disadvantages. When companies go for reverse mergers, they expect fewer risks, enjoy a public company's benefits, and less dependence on the market conditions.

In addition to enjoying all the benefits associated with a reverse merger, Sphere 3D stands a better chance to make huge profits, and the same applies to Gryphon. Buying more Bitcoin miners means making more money and hence the growth of the company.

What is the primary service the company offers?

If it is your first time hearing about Sphere 3D, then one of the questions you are likely to ask yourself is what the company's primary services are. The fact is that Sphere 3D is a company that specializes in offering a wide range of solutions to companies that want to offer agility and flexibility to the end-user.

Interestingly, the company offers verticals in the financial sector, healthcare, education, and government sectors. For instance, in the healthcare industry, they deliver virtualization technology to make the management of the healthcare system effective and reliable.

Is the stock something you would purchase?

When it comes to putting your money in any investment, you need to warrant that you will get your money back in the long run. That is why it is prudent to do some due diligence to ensure that you are making the right choice.
If you are looking for a crypto mining venture that will not disappoint, you need to understand that Sphere 3D is one of the solid stocks to build your crypto mining portfolio. Further, the reverse merger seems to be making things better for those who are interested in cryptocurrency---the company projects to become a carbon-neutral leader in the Bitcoin market and related fields.

The reverse merger of the Forbes magazine with Magnum Opus Acquisition Ltd is the freshest example of media companies catching SPACs. It is a lucrative deal that seeks to allow one of the oldest media publishers, Forbes, to invest further in consumer-focused products while reducing dependence on media revenue. The profit projection resulting from Forbes reverse merger is expected to go high by the end of 2021.

Why is the Reverse Merger Happening?

The next question that anyone is likely to ask themselves is why the merger is necessary. While it will be incorrect to say that the reverse merger does not have any demerits, the truth is that the advantages always outweigh the disadvantages. The typical benefit of a reverse merger that everyone knows is that it saves the private company from the complex and expensive process of becoming a public company. However, that is not all, as many other reasons make private companies choose this path. For instance, it helps in saving the taxes of a private company.

Another benefit of a reverse merger is that it does not negatively impact the competition in the market. It is rare to see the reverse merger on hold because of the negative impact of its implementation. In other words, there is more to celebrate about the merger.

What will the company look like after the Forbes Reverse Merger?

Once the merger between Forbes and Magnum Opus Acquisition Ltd is complete, you do not expect things to remain the same. It is most likely that things will change in one or the other. Although the profits may increase as projected, some disadvantages might come with the entire process. For example, the employees from both sides will be affected. Some may lose their livelihoods, and those lucky enough to survive should expect lots of things. Shifting of roles and confusion among employees is inevitable. Also, the struggle for power among employees may affect the growth and the development of the business. The great news is that this is not likely to last for an extended period before things shape stars to shape up.

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit has agreed to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC) called NextGen Acquisition Corp II. The deal is expected to provide the company with $483 million in cash proceeds with investors, that include Boeing Co and AE Industrial partners, committing $100 million through a private investment equity placement. The deal will result in a value of $3.2 billion for the satellite launching company and will support its capital reserves until its operations begin to produce stable revenue streams which is expected to occur by 2023.

Virgin Orbit Stock

The merger is expected to close by the end of the year and will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker name of VORB, with the company, launched in 2017, keeping its Virgin Orbit name. It follows another Branson company, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, which offers flights to space, going public through a SPAC deal in 2019. He recently took a flight with 5 employees of Virgin Galactic to promote the service which costs $450,000 for a seat on the flight. Branson said that the success of that deal encouraged him to make the current move and went on to say that this method of going public was less time-consuming and more efficient than going through a traditional public stock offering.

The satellite launch sector is experiencing significant growth as companies, including the Elon Musk backed Space Exploration Technologies Corp, compete to lower the cost of these missions partly by re-using launch rockets. Virgin Orbit is unique in that it uses a Boeing 747 to launch its rockets at an altitude of 35,000 feet. CEO Dan Hart has stated that the company has $300 million of contracts in the pipeline for its services with 18 launches expected to be completed in 2023 with this figure increasing subsequently. Boeing, for its part, announced its confidence in the satellite launch market and in Virgin Orbit as a provider.

SPACs

The deal demonstrates the continuing popularity of using SPACs, or blank-check companies as they are known, to go public rather than going the IPO route, with such companies raising over $129 globally in 2021 up from what was already a record $84 billion last year. In fact these types of transactions are increasingly being used to fund space ventures with Rocket Lab USA, another satellite launch company, also seeking to close a similar deal this week.

If you hold Shopify stock as I write this article, you have many reasons to be happy. This is because revenues and earnings for the second quarter of 2021 beat the expectations of most shareholders. What does this mean in terms of dollars and cents? Well, the right call is to let the numbers speak and stats speak for themselves.

A Summary of Shopify Revenue and Earnings

For the quarter ended June 30 2021, earnings per share on an adjusted basis stands at $2.24. In percentage terms, this is an improvement of 113% over the last year's figure. In addition, revenues increased by 57% to stand at $1.12 billion. Clearly, these are impressive numbers when you compare them to last year's numbers. Most analysts expected earnings of about 97 cents per share but the got more than double what they expected. To put things in perspective, let us look at last year's results. Last year, earnings per share was $1.05 while revenues were $714 million. If things continue to go well for Shopify in the next two quarters, the company will keep making progress.

Grounds for Optimism

Shopify investors are clearly optimistic and there are grounds for this optimism. First off, Shopify earned higher than anticipated revenue and incurred lower than expected operating expenses. It follows that the company's income for the 2021 financial year will be higher than it was in 2020.

A Better Business Environment

The fact that the world is winning the war against Covid-19 is another reason to expect better days ahead for Shopify. This is because a better business environment (without the ravages of Covid-19), means more business for Shopify and its business partners. Shopify is taking advantage of the current momentum by building a U.S. distribution network for storing and shipping products to customers and merchants. Meanwhile, the Shopify success story is not based on optimism alone. There is solid evidence to expect better days ahead for this firm. This is because merchant solutions revenue climbed to $785 million and that's an increase of 52% over the previous year. Again, subscription solutions revenue stands at $328.1 million and this represents a 70% hike over the previous year.

Self-driving technology startup Aurora announced that it will go public through a reverse merger transaction with Reinvent Technology Partners Y (Reinvent), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that will provide the company with a cash injection to help continue its development of autonomous truck driving technology and, in the future, for self-driving passenger vehicles as well.

What is a Reverse Merger?

Reverse mergers, and the SPACs that enable them, have become a somewhat controversial method for companies to go public without having to otherwise meet the strict requirements for listing. Going public is not usually an option for companies such as Aurora that do not have a profitable business model in place (and that have not, in fact, made any profits). In addition, this move comes at a time when the overall self-driving car industry is struggling with failed deadlines, still unreliable technology, high cash burn rates, a loss of public trust and the failure of many similar companies. The move to invest more money into self-driving startups either indicates confidence in a forthcoming technological breakthrough or a desperate attempt to keep companies afloat until this major challenge to artificial intelligence applications is overcome, analysts have opined.

Aurora Founders

The Aurora SPAC funded by Reinvent will result in an injection of more than $2 billion into Aurora so that it can continue its (expensive and unprofitable to date) operations for several more years. Reinvent was launched by Reid Hoffman (the co-founder of LinkedIn), Mark Pincus (Zynga founder) and investor Michael Thompson. Other investors include various other Aurora funders as well as other partners including T. Rowe Price and Associates, Sequoia Capital, Uber, Index Ventures, PACCAR and Volvo, among others.

Aurora’s Products and Competitors

If Aurora's plan is successful investors are likely to see huge returns for their backing but the road ahead is risky and uncertain according to industry analysts. The move to focus on self-driving trucks makes sense from a business perspective but other moves, such as autonomous ride-hailing, have been found to be much more difficult to implement with both Uber and Lyft abandoning their efforts. If Aurora manages to deliver its self-driving truck technology it will give it access to a huge and profitable market the income from which could fund their continued research and development to reach their ultimate goal. This is necessary to overcome the accelerating losses the company has experienced with losses of over $214 million in 2020 and $94 million in 2021.

Panacea Life Sciences, a private CBD company is proceeding with a reverse merger with Exactus BioSolutions, a publicly held company (OTCQB: EXDI). This means that Panacea Life Sciences' principals will maintain control of the company as it goes public through the merger with Exactus. Inc. Through a 1:28 reverse stock split, Exactus, Inc. will trade Series C convertible preferred stock, Series C-1 convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock and common stock to acquire Panacea Life Sciences. In total, that will be 1 million, 2 thousand share of convertible preferred stock and 473,639,756 shares of common stock. After the merger is complete, Exactus will change its name to Panacea Life Sciences Holdings. Everything was still pending regulatory approval as of July 2, 2021.

22nd Century

Initially, there were three companies involved in what eventually led to this merger. In 2019, 22nd Century Group invested 14 million in Panacea. With that investment, 22nd Century bought an 11.6% worth of shares in Exactus . That exchange coupled with the Exactus stock trades will complete the transactional aspects of the merger.

Merger Leadership

The leadership of the new company is also being planned. Larry Wert, the EC, and Media Executive of Exactus, Inc. will join the board of directors and no longer be EC. Andrew Johnson, an officer at Exactus, Inc. will become assistant of investor relations at the new company.

Panacea Life Sciences' Leslie Buttorff founded the company in 2017 as a seed-to-sale business. There's began as a female owned business with forward thinking industry practices. From their 51,000 square foot cGMP certified facility in Golden, Colorado they employ the use of CO2 extraction and chromatography equipment. Their product originates from PANA Botanical Farms, Colorado.

Panacea’s Product Line

Panacea's product line includes hemp-derived CBD products like topicals, soft gels, tinctures, sublingual tablets, gummies, and cosmetics. All these products have only a trace of THC. They're made for both the consumer and their pets. Out of the 113 cannabinoids in cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive component.

The developer of popular mobile games Cookie Jam and Disney Pop Town, Jam City Inc. has announced to undergo a reverse merger with DPCM Inc. (Miami). Both have decided to use the money gained by the merger to start a new public gaming company named as Jam City Holdings Inc. The combined evaluation of both the companies would be $1.2 billion.

Jam City History

Jam City was founded in 2010 by Chris DeWolfe in Los Angeles California. The company operates from over nine studios in United States, Canada, South America, and Europe, with over 825 employees till now. The company's estimated revenue is $176.5 million per year. It has developed a series of mobile games out of which Cookie Jam, Cookie Jam Blast, Disney Emoji Blitz, Snoopy Pop and Frozen Adventures are on top list of game players. Apple App Store ranked 7 of its games in 100 highest-grossing charts. In 2021 over 1.3 million game downloads are reported with around 31 million active users.

The Cookie Jam game generated $500 million revenue and Panda Pop games got 120 million downloads.

DPCM Inc. is a newly organized blank check company that provides financial assets to implement new mergers. Emil Michael is the Chairman and Chief Executive of DPCM Inc. It raised around $300 million in October 2021 IPO.

What Is a Reverse Merger?

A reverse merger is a corporate transformation where a private company becomes public by undertaking the ownership of a public company.

As the Covid 19 breakdown has en-caged all population in their homes, mobile games got the most business throughout 2020 and 2021. DPCM Inc. decided to join hands with Jam City to create new milestones in gaming industry.

As announced on 20 May, Jam City and DPCM will undergo a reverse merger to establish a new game company Jam City Holdings Inc. Chris De Wolfe and Josh Yguado will lead the new company. The later would be listed in New York Stock Exchange under the symbol JAM.

65% shares of the new company would be owned by the stakeholders of Jam City. Netmarble Corp, a South Korean game developer, that is also an investor in Jam City will hold a portion of new company.

Aerpio Pharmaceuticals has announced its entry into a reverse merger agreement with the privately-held Aadi Bioscience. The new entity will operate under the name "Aadi Bioscience, Inc." To support the merger, Aerpio is to raise $155 million in a PIPE deal.

The cash expected from the PIPE financing will fund the company into 2024. It will also be used for the potential approval and commercialization of the company's novel product: FYARRO.

The directors of both companies have approved the merger, which is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of 2021. The PIPE financing will be completed concurrently with the closing of the merger.

Company & Stock Outlook

Following the announcement of the merger, Aerpio shares rose by 17.2% to close at $1.36 on Monday, May 17, 2021. Aadi shareholders will receive Aerpio common stock. 33.2% of the new company will be owned by Aerpio shareholders and 66.8% by Aadi shareholders.

Neil Desai, Aadi's chief executive officer, will head the new company. The company's headquarters will be in Los Angeles, California. The proposed board chairman is Caley Castelein.

Aerpio shareholders will receive a non-transferable contingent value right (CVR) after the merger. At the closing of the merger, Aerpio will enter into a CVR agreement.

The new board will be made of the current Aerpio board members Caley Castelein and Anupam Dalal; Aadi's board members Richard Maroun and Neil Desai; and Aadi's board observer Karin Hehenberger. Behzad Aghazadeh, managing partner of Avoro Capital Advisors will also join the board.

Parties Involved

The PIPE financing will be led by KVP Capital and Acuta Capital Partners. Other institutional investors will be Serrado Capital LLC, Acorn Bioventures, RTW Investments, Rock Springs Capital, Vivo Capital, BVF Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Avoro Ventures, and Avoro Capital Advisors.

The financial advisor for Aerpio for the merger will be Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and their legal counsel will be Goodwin Procter LLP. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. will serve as the legal counsel for Aadi. Piper Sandler & Co and Perella Weinberg Partners LP will be the financial advisors to Aadi for the merger.

Placement agents for the PIPE financing will be Piper Sandler & Co., Cowen and Company LLC, and Jefferies LLC.

First quarter Shopify stock results for 2021 have shown an increase in revenue growth of 110% compared to last year with profits surging on the back of increased subscriptions and the investment in Affirm.

What is Shopify

Shopify is an ecommerce platform that has benefited from the additional lift in online sales that occurred as a result of the pandemic. The Canadian company has already grown 40-fold in the last five years and expectations had been that growth would slow this year after such a stellar performance. Nonetheless, shares in Shopify rose an additional 10% on the announcement.

Analysts View of Shopify

Analysts have been speculating for months about when the global recovery would slow online spending as consumers returned to more traditional shopping habits, but these results show revenue accelerating for the company for all of geographic locations and for all types of merchants on the platform. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) on the platform (a measure used by the ecommerce industry to measure the total value of goods sold in a given period) doubled from the previous year to reach over $37 billion, although this was largely fueled by countries outside the US, according to the company.

Shopify has said that it does expect some moderation in growth in the coming year, however, as the impact of the pandemic lessens and shops reopen which means customers are likely to return to physical stores rather than shopping exclusively online.

Shopify First Quarter Results

Shopify stock results show it had better than expected revenue and adjusted earnings in the quarter of $988 million (analyst expectations were $863 million) compared with $470 million in the previous year. This resulted in adjusted earnings per share of $2.01 (analyst expectations were $0.77). Net income was also boosted by an $1.3 billion gain in its shares in Affirm Holdings which was listed on the stock exchange in January. The partnership with Affirm, sealed the previous July, resulted in Shopify receiving 20 million shares in the company.