Trump Media to Merge With Nuclear Fusion Company TAE in $6 Billion Deal

The merger aims to create one of the world’s first publicly traded fusion companies and support America’s technology and energy dominance ambitions.

A person checking the app store on a cellphone for Truth Social with the platform's website on a computer screen in the background, in Los Angeles on Oct. 20, 2021, in this photo illustration. Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), said on Dec. 18 that it has signed a definitive agreement to merge with nuclear fusion firm TAE Technologies in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $6 billion, an ambitious tie-up that the companies said was a bid to help “power America’s technology revolution.”

In a joint statement, TMTG—owner of Truth Social—and TAE said the deal seeks to create one of the world’s first publicly traded fusion companies.

In a post on Truth Social, TMTG described the move as a natural extension of its broader mission.

“From its inception, TMTG has been dedicated to building things the American people needed,” the company said, citing the launches of Truth Social and Truth+. “And as our country positions itself to achieve global technology dominance in AI, quantum computing, and other groundbreaking innovations, we’re merging with @TAE to build the engine we believe will power America’s technology revolution.”

Under the definitive merger agreement, TMTG shareholders and privately held TAE are expected to each own roughly 50 percent of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Fusion Ambitions

The companies said the combined entity plans to site and begin construction in 2026 on what they describe as the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant, a 50-megawatt-electric (MWe) facility.

Additional plants in the 350 MWe to 500 MWe range are also planned, with the companies outlining their expectations that fusion energy will deliver “economic, abundant, and dependable” electricity while helping the United States meet surging power demands driven by artificial intelligence.

To support that push, TMTG has agreed to provide up to $200 million of cash to TAE at signing, with an additional $100 million available upon the initial filing of a Form S-4 registration statement.

Founded in 1998, TAE said it has spent more than 25 years developing fusion technology aimed at commercial deployment. The company said in a June 2 statement that it had built “five increasingly powerful and productive” fusion demonstration units to National Laboratory scale. It has also advanced construction on a sixth demonstration unit, Copernicus, which the company said is “on track to achieve a net energy milestone before the end of the decade.”

The company has raised more than $1.3 billion in private capital from investors including Google, Chevron Technology Ventures, Goldman Sachs, and Charles Schwab.

Leadership, Governance

TMTG CEO Devin Nunes and TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer are expected to serve as co-CEOs of the combined entity, the companies said. Nunes would continue to lead TMTG’s brands, while Binderbauer would oversee TAE’s fusion operations.

“Trump Media & Technology Group built uncancellable infrastructure to secure free expression online for Americans, and now we’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” Nunes said in a statement.

Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes speaks during a general session at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 5, 2022. Go Nakamura/Reuters

“Fusion power will be the most dramatic energy breakthrough since the onset of commercial nuclear energy in the 1950s,” he added, calling it an innovation that would “lower energy prices, boost supply, ensure America’s A.I.-supremacy, revive our manufacturing base, and bolster national defense.”

Binderbauer said recent progress has positioned TAE to move quickly toward commercialization.

“Our talented team, through its commitment and dedication to science, is poised to solve the immense global challenge of energy scarcity,” he said, adding that the company is “excited to identify our first site and begin deploying this revolutionary technology that we expect to fundamentally transform America’s energy supply.”

Michael B. Schwab, founder and managing director of Big Sky Partners, is expected to serve as chairman of a planned nine-member board. The board is slated to include two directors from TMTG—Nunes and Donald Trump Jr.—two from TAE, and five independent directors to be named later.

Based on TMTG’s trailing 30-day volume-weighted average share price as of Dec. 17, the deal values each share of TAE common stock at $53.89 on a fully diluted basis.

Upon closing, TMTG would become the holding company for Truth Social, Truth+, Truth.Fi, TAE, and its subsidiaries, TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.

The merger comes on the heels of TMTG’s third-quarter results, which show a strengthened balance sheet and improved cash position. The company said it ended the third quarter with $3.1 billion in financial assets and posted $10.1 million in operating cash flow, its second consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow.