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Donald Trump’s social media company became the first group to list on the New York Stock Exchange’s Texas platform on Monday, months after the president lashed out at Nasdaq for temporarily halting trading of the shares.
The NYSE earlier this year rebranded its Chicago operation, which dates back 143 years, as a “Dallas exchange” in an attempt to capitalise on the state’s burgeoning reputation as a “pro-business” state. However, no employees have made the move to Texas and the servers powering the electronic-only market remain in New Jersey.
The primary listing of Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, will remain on Nasdaq, which earlier in March said it planned to open a regional headquarters in Dallas.
“Texas provides a fantastic climate for business and entrepreneurship that aligns with TMTG’s mission,” said TMTG chief executive and chair Devin Nunes.
“This listing, alongside our plans to reincorporate in Florida, shows we’re part of a growing movement to take our business to states that value free enterprise and personal freedom,” he added in a statement.
Shares in TMTG, which trades under the symbol DJT, fell as much as 6 per cent on Monday morning, taking their decline this year to more than 40 per cent amid a broad US stock market sell-off fuelled by Trump’s aggressive trade agenda.
Trump has in the past bristled at both the NYSE and Nasdaq. In September, DJT surged after Trump said he did not plan to sell any of his own shares in the company, which are held in a trust controlled by his son Donald Trump Jr. Trading in the stock was temporarily halted by Nasdaq later that day.
Trump later accused Nasdaq of “taking orders from” the Securities and Exchange Commission. Writing on Truth Social, the president said at the time: “What right do [Nasdaq] have to do this? They have done it twice today. What’s going on?”
Trading halts are not uncommon and typically occur when there is a significant order imbalance between buyers and sellers. Federal securities laws allow the SEC to suspend trading for up to 10 trading days for the protection of investors.
The launch of NYSE Texas comes as another group, the Texas Stock Exchange, which is backed by BlackRock and Citadel Securities, is awaiting approval from regulators to begin operating as a national securities exchange.
Texas has in recent years sought to lure companies to the state with the promise of light-touch regulation and low taxes. Jeffrey Sprecher, chief executive of NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, and his wife, Kelly Loeffler, are major Trump donors.
“We applaud Trump Media, Governor [Greg] Abbott and the state of Texas on their commitment to supporting the innovation of US capital markets,” said Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group.
Right-leaning media company Newsmax, which was founded by Trump ally Chris Ruddy, began trading on the NYSE on Monday. Shares rose more than 200 per cent before trading was briefly halted for volatility.
https://www.ft.com/content/e0edf206-fee9-4c94-b987-4ab90a4f1dc6
