Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. 10-K

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective. Management’s Annual Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting This Report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by the rules of the SEC for newly public companies. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting Not applicable. Item 9B. Other Information. None. Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. Not applicable. 39 Table of Contents PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance Directors and Executive Officers As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows: Name Age Position Patrick Orlando 49 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Luis Orleans-Braganza 52 Chief Financial Officer Lee Jacobson 56 Director Bruce J. Garelick 52 Director Justin Shaner 40 Director Eric Swider 49 Director Rodrigo Veloso 43 Director Patrick Orlando has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since September 2021. Mr. Orlando has been serving as Special Advisor for BurTech Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: BRKH), a special purpose acquisition corporation, and Nubia Brand International Corp. (Nasdaq: NUBI), a special purpose acquisition corporation, since December 2021 and January 2022, respectively. He has also been serving as Director and Special Advisor of Maquia Capital Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: MAQC), a special purpose acquisition corporation, since May 2021, as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: BENE), a special purpose acquisition corporation, since September 2020. In addition, he also served as Chief Executive Officer of Yunhong International (Nasdaq: ZGYH), a publicly listed special acquisition purpose corporation, since January 2020. Mr. Orlando is Chief Executive Officer of Benessere Capital, LLC, an investment consulting and investment banking firm he founded in Miami in October 2012. At Benessere Capital, LLC, he has advised on fundraising, capital deployment, mergers and acquisitions, private placements, and products marketing. From March 2014 to August 2018, Mr. Orlando also served as the Chief Financial Officer of Sucro Can Sourcing LLC, a sugar trading company he co-founded, where he managed all financial matters including insurance and banking relationships. From November 2014 to August 2018, Mr. Orlando served as the Vice President of Sucro Can International LLC, a sugar processing company, where he focused on finance and processing technology. From March 2011 to March 2014, Mr. Orlando served as the Managing Director and the Head of Structuring and Derivatives of BT Capital Markets, LLC, a boutique investment bank in Miami, Florida, where he was involved in managing global derivatives and structuring activities. From September 2006 to March 2011, Mr. Orlando served in roles including Chief Technical Officer and Director of Pure Biofuels Corporation, a renewable fuel corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas with operations in Peru. From April 1998 to December 2003, Mr. Orlando served as the Director of Emerging Markets Fixed Income Derivatives of Deutsche Bank. Mr. Orlando earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We believe that Mr. Orlando is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investing, science and engineering experience and in particular his experience as Chief Executive Officer and board member of other special purpose acquisition companies. Luis Orleans-Braganza has served as our Chief Financial Officer since May 2021. Mr. Orleans-Braganza is a businessman and currently a member of Brazil’s National Congress, originally elected in 2018, representing the state of São Paulo. He founded Zap Tech in February of 2012 and remained there until 2015, during which time Zap Tech developed a mobile payment platform. As the CEO he was responsible for all aspects of product design, geo localization and payment protocols. In August of 2005 he founded IKAT do Brasil, an automobile and motorcycle company which developed new automotive technology in ignitions. Mr. Braganza was responsible for all aspects of general management including team building, business development, research and development and capital allocation. Prior to his political and entrepreneurial days, his professional trajectory began in the United States, where he harnessed experiences in planning, finance and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Braganza was part of the sales and operations planning effort of Companie de Saint-Gobain, a French 40 Table of Contents multinational, between January of 1994 and December of 1996. Later he extended his financial experience at JP Morgan investment banking division in London and at Lazard Frères in New York City. From April 2000 to May 2005, he acted as a director at Time Warner’s, AOL Latin America division where he was responsible for managing strategic alliances with media and telecom players in multiple countries in the region. Mr. Braganza earned a degree in Business Administration from the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado. Lee Jacobson has served as a director since December 2020. Since January 2018, he has been the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Robot Cache US, Inc., a PC games digital distribution company. From January 2017 to January 2018, Lee was the Managing Director of Converge Direct, LLC, a digital advertising agency, where he managed all of the analytics and software development operations for its clients. From September 2012 through 2016, Lee was the Chief Executive Officer of Apmetrix Analytics Inc., which liquidated its assets in 2019 in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. From September 2009 to September 2012, Lee was a Senior Vice President, Licensing and Digital Publishing for Atari, where he was responsible for global licensing activities for all consumer products and interactive categories for the Atari brand and global publishing operations for the console and mobile business units. From August 1998 to August 2009, Lee was a Vice President, Business Development and Licensing, for Midway Games Inc., during which time he managed the worldwide licensing and business development functions. Prior to 1998, Lee was a Director of Business Development for Virgin Interactive Entertainment beginning in January 1997. We believe Mr. Jacobson is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his experience in the video game and digital distribution sector, as well as for his extensive career in management positions. Bruce J. Garelick has served as our director since September 2021. Mr. Garelick is a venture capitalist/entrepreneur/c-level executive and disruptive technology investing enthusiast. Since August 2020, he has served as the chief-strategy-officer at Rocket One Capital. From May 2019 to August 2020, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Leaf Logix Technologies, Inc., a software company. From 2012 to May 2019, Mr. Garelick was the founder and Managing Partner of Garelick Capital Partners LP, a technology hedge fund. Prior thereto, from January 2005 to 2012, Mr. Garelick was a portfolio manager at Adge Capital LP. Mr. Garelick has dedicated his career to investing, molding, and guiding transformative growth technology companies. He has managed one of the largest technology hedge fund pools of capital in the world for a former Harvard University endowment investment manager to starting his own hedge fund, which grew into one of the top dedicated technology hedge funds in the world. He has since transitioned his investment focus and managerial skills to the private technology world, where he served as a lead investor and CFO of an industry defining software company to his current venture capital focus on early-stage technology companies at Rocket One Capital. Mr. Garelick received his MBA from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University. He is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) holder. We believe Mr. Garelick is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his experience as an investor and fund manager and growing businesses and his contacts and relationships. Justin L. Shaner has served as our director since September 2021. Mr. Shaner founded and has been serving as Chief Executive Officer of Shaner Properties LLC, a real estate investment and development company, since February 2011. Since January 2021, Mr. Shaner has also served as a director of Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. Mr. Shaner served as the Vice President of Development for Shaner Hotels LP, one of the foremost award-winning hospitality owner-operators and management companies in the hospitality industry, from March 2018 to December 2021. Mr. Shaner has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Sobe Brooke Studios LLC, an independent film production company, since October 2012. From August 2013 to June 2016, Mr. Shaner served as a Partner and Producer of Radar Pictures in Los Angeles, California. From September 2007 to September 2015, Mr. Shaner served as the President and Chief Creative Officer of The JLS Agency, an award-winning digital marketing agency. Mr. Shaner also serves as a board member for Shaner Ciocco S.r.l., which developed and manages the Renaissance Tuscany Hotel. Mr. Shaner holds a Bachelor’s degree in Design and Visual Communications from the Pennsylvania State University. We believe Mr. Shaner is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of 41 Table of Contents directors due to his experience in business strategy, board experience, and experience investing in the technology sector. Eric Swider has served as our director since September 2021. Mr. Swider has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer of RUBIDEX since January 2020, a start-up company focusing on data security. Since February 2021, Mr. Swider has also served as a director of Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. Mr. Swider founded Renatus Advisors and has been serving as the Partner of Renatus LLC since June 2016, where he is responsible for FEMA grant management and government advisory services. From September 2016 to January 2018, Mr. Swider served as the Managing Director of Great Bay Global where he oversaw the launch of a new business division focused on investing in alternative strategies. From December 2014 to June 2016, Mr. Swider served as the Managing Director of OHorizons Global, where he oversaw expansion of a new investment team and was responsible for working on a global basis to expand its client base and investment portfolio. From February 2010 to December 2015, Mr. Swider served as the Managing Director of Oceano Beach Resorts, where he was responsible for growing its new property and resort management group. Mr. Swider received his education in Mechanics Engineering and Nuclear Science Studies at US Naval Engineering and Nuclear A Schools, an intensive two-year program studying nuclear physics, heat transfer and fluid flow, advanced mathematical practices and engineering principles. We believe Mr. Swider is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his experience in business strategy, international expertise, and his contacts and relationships. Rodrigo Veloso has served as our director since September 2021. Mr. Veloso was the founder and served as Chief Executive Officer of O.N.E. Coconut Water from 2005 to 2012, one of the original three ready-to-drink coconut water beverage companies. Mr. Veloso led the growth of the O.N.E. brand into a multi-million dollar business with distribution in over 25,000 retail stores in the United States and Canada. Mr. Veloso secured strategic and private equity investors for the company – PepsiCo and Catterton Partners, respectively, which led to PepsiCo’s purchase of O.N.E. Coconut Water in 2012. Mr. Veloso is the founder of O.N.E. Natural Energy, a company targets a niche market that has been created by the development of an economically sustainable tire-to-energy plasma gasification technology. Mr. Veloso is the co-founder of O.N.E. Guyana, a company aiming at investing and contributing to a sustainable development of Guyana, one of the world’s fastest growing economies. He is co-founder of VENUS.LOVE, which is vertically integrated mammography company that manufactures x-ray mammograms and operates clinics to offer a high quality experience and image while democratizing access to mammograms. Mr. Veloso has been serving as the principal of Unik Capital since 2013, a boutique investment firm with investments in technology, consumer goods and housing, which currently operates in the United States and Brazil. Mr. Veloso has been serving as the board member of Segurar.com since 2012, Brazil’s first online insurance company. Mr. Veloso has been also serving since 2010 as the Co-Founder of BRIC Chamber, an organization established to encourage people from around the world to meet and talk about the development and advancement of programs and services in the fields of investment, entrepreneurship and innovation in Brasil, Russia, India, China (or BRIC) and other emerging countries. We believe that Mr. Veloso is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investment experience and his experience in building businesses and securing investments in them. Family Relationships There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers that are required to be disclosed by Regulation S-K. Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors We have six directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, which consists of Justin L. Shaner and Rodrigo Veloso 42 Table of Contents will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, which consists of Eric Swider and Bruce J. Garelick, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Patrick Orlando and Lee Jacobson, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders. Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors. Committees of the Board of Directors Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Audit Committee We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Justin Shaner, Eric Swider and Lee Jacobson serve as members of our audit committee, and Eric Swider chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Justin Shaner, Eric Swider and Lee Jacobson meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) under the Exchange Act. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Eric Swider qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules. We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including: • the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; • pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; • setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations; • setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; • obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence; • reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and • reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise 43 Table of Contents material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Compensation Committee We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Justin Shaner, Eric Swider and Lee Jacobson serve as members of our compensation committee and Justin Shaner chairs the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Justin Shaner, Eric Swider and Lee Jacobson are independent. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation, including: • reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; • reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers; • reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; • implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; • assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; • approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; • if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and • reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to Benessere Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of our sponsor, of $15,000 per month, for up to 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the time for completion as permitted under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation), for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination. The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC. Director Nominations We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the 44 Table of Contents board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees will be Justin Shaner, Eric Swider and Lee Jacobson. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place. The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws. We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Code of Ethics We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. Our Code of Ethics is available on the Company website, www.dwacspac.com, and the SEC website, www.sec.gov. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. Item 11. Executive Compensation None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing September 3, 2021, we have agreed to pay Benessere Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of our sponsor, a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors or any affiliate of our sponsor, officers or directors, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will 45 Table of Contents be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors. We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of April 11, 2022 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of common stock, by: • each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock; • each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our common stock; and • all our executive officers and directors as a group. In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 37,214,734 shares of our common stock, consisting of (i) 30,027,234 shares of our Class A common stock and (ii) 7,187,500 shares of our Class B common stock, issued and outstanding as of April 11, 2022. On all matters to be voted upon, except for the election of directors of the board, holders of the shares of Class A common stock and shares of Class B common stock vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the shares of Class B common stock are convertible into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. 46 Table of Contents Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Report. Class A Common Stock Class B Common Stock (2) Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) Number of Shares Beneficially Owned Approximate Percentage of Class Number of Shares Beneficially Owned Approximate Percentage of Class Patrick Orlando (3) 1,133,484 3.8 % 5,490,000 76.0 % 17.8 % Luis Orleans-Braganza — — 10,000 * * Lee Jacobson — — 7,500 * * Bruce J. Garelick — — 7,500 * * Justin Shaner — — 7,500 * * Eric Swider — — 7,500 * * Rodrigo Veloso — — 7,500 * * All directors and executive officers as a group (7 individuals) 1,133,484 3.8 % 5,537,500 77.0 % 17.9 % Other 5% Stockholders ARC Global Investments II LLC (the Sponsor) (3) 1,133,484 3.8 % 5,490,000 76.0 % 17.8 % * Less than 1% (1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Digital World Acquisition Corp., 78 SW 7th Street, Miami, Florida 33130. (2) Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Such shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. (3) ARC Global Investments II LLC, our Sponsor, is the record holder of the securities reported herein. Patrick Orlando, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member of our sponsor. By virtue of this relationship, Mr. Orlando may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the securities held of record by our sponsor ponsor. Mr. Orlando disclaims any such beneficial ownership except to the extent of his pecuniary interest. Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Table None. Changes in Control For more information on the TMTG Business Combination, see “ Item 1. Business ”. Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. On January 20, 2021, our sponsor purchased 2,875,000 founder shares (which were subsequently subject to a three-for-one stock split, resulting in our sponsor holding 8,625,000 founder shares) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.0087 per share. On May 19, 2021, our sponsor transferred 10,000 founder shares to our Chief Financial Officer and 7,500 founder shares to each of our independent directors. On September 2, 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 1,437,500 shares of Class B common stock for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 shares outstanding. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering (excluding the representative shares and the placement units and underlying securities). The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount 47 Table of Contents of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. The founder shares (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. Commencing on September 3, 2021, we have agreed to pay Benessere Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of our sponsor, a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf. Prior to the consummation of our initial public offering, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecured and were due at the earlier of September 30, 2021 or the closing of our initial public offering. As of September 30, 2021, $0 was outstanding under the note. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 1,133,484 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $11,334,840. Each placement unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder shares, the representative shares, the placement shares or the placement warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination by September 8, 2022 (or March 8, 2023, if we extend the maximum time to complete a business combination). The placement units are identical to the units sold in our initial public offering except that the placement units and their component securities will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the consummation of our initial business combination except to permitted transferees and (b) the placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees will be entitled to registration right. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by September 8, 2022 (or March 8, 2023, if we have extended the maximum time) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months, if we extend the 48 Table of Contents time to complete a business combination) from the completion of our initial public offering or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 12-month (or up to 18 months if we have extended the period of time) period. However, our initial stockholders will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate by September 8, 2022 (or March 8, 2023, if we have extended the maximum time). In addition, the holders of the representative shares have agreed (i) to waive their redemption rights (or right to participate in any tender offer) with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such periods of 12 months (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination) from the closing of our initial public offering. Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we have entered into with our initial stockholders, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders (including the holders of representative shares), and holders of units issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. Director Independence Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Lee Jacobson, Bruce J. Garelick, Justin L. Shaner, Eric Swider and Rodrigo Veloso are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. Item 14 . Principal Accountant Fees and Services. The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP for services rendered. Audit Fees . Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum LLP in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Marcum LLP for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2021 totaled approximately $73,018. The aggregate fees of Marcum LLP related to audit services in connection with our initial public offering totaled approximately $54,075. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings. Audit-Related Fees . Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “ Audit Fees .” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the year ended December 31, 2021 we did not pay Marcum LLP any audit-related fees. Tax Fees . We did not pay Marcum LLP for tax services, planning or advice for the year ended December 31, 2021. 49 Table of Contents All Other Fees . We did not pay Marcum LLP for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2021. Pre-Approval Policy Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit). 50 Table of Contents PART IV Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules (a) The following documents are filed as part of this Report: (1) Financial Statements (2) Financial Statement Schedules All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes beginning on F-1 on this Report. (3) Exhibits We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Item 16. Form 10-K Summary. Not applicable. 51 Table of Contents Digital World Acquisition Corp. INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM (PCAOB ID # 688 ) F-2 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: BALANCE SHEET F-3 STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS F-4 STATEMENT OF CHANGES STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT F-5 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS F-6 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS F-7 F-1 Table of Contents REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Digital World Acquisition Corp. Opinion on the Financial Statements We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Digital World Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company has determined that the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution, should the Company be unable to complete a business combination, raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Basis for Opinion These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. /s/ Marcum LLP Marcum LLP We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021. New York, NY April 1 3 , 2022 F-2 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. BALANCE SHEET December 31, 2021 ASSETS Current assets Cash $ 327,731 Prepaid assets 240,972 Total Current Assets 568,703 Prepaid assets 165,051 Cash Held in Trust Account 293,257,098 TOTAL ASSETS $ 293,990,852 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT Current liabilities Accrued expenses $ 483,535 Franchise tax payable 200,000 Total Current Liabilities 683,535 Deferred underwriter fee payable 10,062,500 TOTAL LIABILITIES 10,746,035 Commitments and Contingencies Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, $ 0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; 28,750,000 shares outstanding, at redemption value 293,250,000 Stockholders’ Deficit Preferred stock, $ 0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding — Class A common stock, $ 0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 1,277,234 issued and outstanding, excluding 28,750,000 shares subject to redemption 127 Class B common stock, $ 0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 7,187,500 issued and outstanding 719 Additional paid-in capital — Accumulated deficit ( 10,006,029 ) Total Stockholders’ Deficit ( 10,005,183 ) TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT $ 293,990,852 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. F-3 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS Year Ended December 31, 2021 Formation and operating costs $ 1,191,593 Franchise tax expense 200,000 Loss from operation costs ( 1,391,593 ) Other income and expenses: Interest earned on cash held in Trust Account 7,098 Net loss $ ( 1,384,495 ) Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A common stock 9,404,134 Basic and diluted net income per Class A common stock $ ( 0.08 ) Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B common stock 7,187,500 Basic and diluted net income per Class B common stock $ ( 0.08 ) The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. F-4 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. STATEMENT OF CHANGES STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT Class A Common Stock Class B Common Stock Additional Paid-In Accumulated Total Stockholders’ Shares Amount Shares Amount Capital Deficit Deficit Balance – December 31, 2020 — — — — — — — Issuance of Class B common stock to sponsor (1)(2) — $ — 7,187,500 $ 719 $ 24,281 $ — $ 25,000 Class A common stock accretion to redemption value — — — — ( 12,796,508 ) ( 7,184,020 ) ( 19,980,528 ) Issuance of Class A common stock to investor 1,133,484 113 — — 11,334,727 — 11,334,840 Issuance of Class A common stock to representative 143,750 14 — — 1,437,500 ( 1,437,514 ) — Net loss — — — — — ( 1,384,495 ) ( 1,384,495 ) Balance – December 31, 2021 1,277,234 $ 127 7,187,500 $ 719 — $ ( 10,006,029 ) $ ( 10,005,183 ) (1) The shares and the associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the three -for-one stock split on July 1, 2021. (2) On September 2, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 1,437,500 shares of Class B common stock for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the surrender of these shares (see Note 7). The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. F-5 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS Year Ended December 31, 2021 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ ( 1,384,495 ) Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: Interest earned on cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account ( 7,098 ) Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accrued expenses 483,535 Prepaid insurance ( 406,023 ) Franchise tax payable 200,000 Net cash used in operating activities ( 1,114,081 ) Cash flows from investing activities: Investment of cash in Trust Account ( 293,250,000 ) Net cash used in investing activities ( 293,250,000 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from sale of Units 287,500,000 Proceeds from sale of private placement units 11,334,840 Proceeds from Sponsor note 223,557 Repayment of Sponsor note ( 223,557 ) Due from Sponsor ( 1,702,958 ) Payment of due from Sponsor 1,702,958 Payment of offering costs ( 4,168,028 ) Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor 25,000 Net cash provided by financing activities 294,691,812 Net change in cash 327,731 Cash at beginning of period — Cash at end of period $ 327,731 Non-cash investing and financing activities: Initial classification of shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption $ 293,250,000 Deferred underwriting fee payable $ 10,062,500 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. F-6 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS Digital World Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in the State of Delaware on December 11, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (“Business Combination”). Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus on middle-market emerging growth technology-focused companies in the Americas, in the SaaS and Technology or Fintech and Financial Services sector. At December 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public Offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below and the search for targets for its initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering and the concurrent Private Placement (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies. The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on September 2, 2021 (the “Registration Statement”). On September 8, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 28,750,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), at $ 10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $ 287,500,000 , and incurred offering costs of $ 23,566,497 , consisting of deferred underwriting commissions of $ 10,062,500 (see Note 3), fair value of the representative shares (as defined in Note 7) of $ 1,437,500 , fair value of Anchor Investor shares of $ 7,677,450 , fair value of shares transferred to officers and directors of $ 221,018 , and other offering costs of $ 4,168,029 . The Units sold in the Initial Public Offering included Units that were subject to a 45 -day option granted to the underwriter to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 Units at the Initial Public Offering price to cover over-allotment, which was exercised in full in connection with the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 1,133,484 units (the “Placement Units”) at a price of $ 10.00 per Placement Unit in a private placement (“Private Placement”) to the Company’s sponsor, ARC Global Investments II LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $ 11,334,840 , which is described in Note 4. Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 8, 2021, an amount of $ 293,250,000 ($ 10.20 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Placement Units was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) located in the United States and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting the conditions of paragraph (d) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earliest of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”) (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its initial Business Combination or certain amendments to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100 % of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity and (iii) the redemption of 100 % F-7 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS of the Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period (subject to the requirements of applicable law). The Company will provide its stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with a proposed Business Combination, the Company may seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $ 5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination, unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or stock exchange rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 15 % or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $ 10.20 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. All of the Public Shares contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company’s Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. In accordance with the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and its guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Public Shares were issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public warrants), the initial carrying value of the shares of Class A common stock classified as temporary equity was the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20. Because of the redemption feature noted above, the shares of Class A common stock are subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company has elected to recognize the changes immediately. The accretion or remeasurement is treated as a deemed dividend (i.e., a reduction to retained earnings, or in absence of retained earnings, additional paid-in capital). While redemptions cannot cause the Company’s net tangible assets to fall below $ 5,000,001 , the Public Shares are redeemable and will be classified as such on the balance sheet until such date that a redemption event takes place. If a stockholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of F-8 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed (a) to vote any shares of Class B common stock of the Company (the “Founder Shares”), the shares of Class A common stock included within the Placement Units (the “Private Shares”) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares, Private Shares held by them and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in connection with the completion of the Business Combination, (c) not to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares, Private Shares held by them and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its initial Business Combination or certain amendments to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100 % of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares and Private Shares held by them if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period. The Company’s anchor investors have agreed to (1) vote any Founder Shares held by them in favor of the initial Business Combination, (2) waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares held by them in connection with the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, and (3) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares held by them if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period. The Company will have until September 8, 2022 (or up to March 8, 2023 if the Company extends the maximum time to complete a Business Combination) to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than five business days thereafter, redeem 100 % of the outstanding Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $ 100,000 ), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less $ 10.20 . The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company, if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has F-9 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the Trust Account to below $ 10.20 per share (whether or not the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the company’s independent registered accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account. Going Concern Consideration Subsequent to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, the Company’s liquidity has been satisfied through the net proceeds from the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement held outside of the Trust Account. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note 5). As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loan. In November 2021, the Sponsor committed to provide loans of up to an aggregate of $ 1,000,000 to the Company through September 8, 2022, which loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and will be payable upon the consummation of a Business Combination. However, in connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Account Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern” as stated above, the Company has until September 8, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the caring amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after September 8, 2022. Proposed Business Combination On October 20, 2021, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with DWAC Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., a Delaware corporation (“TMTG”), the Sponsor, in the capacity as the representative for certain stockholders of the Company, and TMTG’s Chief Legal Officer, in the capacity as the representative for stockholders of TMTG. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, (i) upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Closing”), Merger Sub will merge with and into TMTG (the “Merger” and, together with the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”), with TMTG continuing as the surviving corporation in the Merger and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In the Merger, (i) all shares of TMTG common stock (together, “TMTG Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”) (other than those properly exercising any applicable dissenters rights under Delaware law) will be converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration (as defined below); (ii) each outstanding option to acquire shares of F-10 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TMTG common stock (whether vested or unvested) will be assumed by the Company and automatically converted into an option to acquire shares of the Company common stock, with its price and number of shares equitably adjusted based on the conversion ratio of the shares of TMTG common stock into the Merger Consideration and (iii) each outstanding restricted stock unit of TMTG shall be converted into a restricted stock unit relating to shares of the Company’s common stock. At the Closing, the Company will change its name to “Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.” The aggregate merger consideration to be paid pursuant to the Merger Agreement to holders of TMTG Stock as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (“TMTG Stockholders” and, together with the holders of TMTG options and restricted stock units immediately prior to the Effective Time, the “TMTG Security Holders”) will be an amount equal to $ 875,000,000 , subject to adjustments for TMTG’s closing debt, net of cash and unpaid transaction expenses (the “Merger Consideration”), plus the additional contingent right to receive certain earnout shares after the Closing. The Merger Consideration to be paid to TMTG Stockholders will be paid solely by the delivery of new shares of the Company’s common stock, with each valued at the price per share at which each share of the Company’s common stock is redeemed or converted pursuant to the redemption by the Company of its public stockholders in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination, as required by the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, by-laws and the Company’s Initial Public Offering prospectus. The Merger Consideration will be subject to a post-Closing true up 90 days after the Closing. On December 4, 2021, in support of the TMTG Business Combination, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements (the “SPAs”) with certain institutional accredited investors (the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which the investors agreed to purchase an aggregate o f 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”), for a purchase price of $ 1,000 per share of Preferred Stock, for an aggregate commitment of $ 1,000,000,000 in a private placement (the “PIPE”) to be consummated concurrently with the TMTG Business Combination. The shares of Preferred Stock have an initial conversion price per share of $ 33.60 and are initially convertible into an aggregate of 29,761,905 shares of common stock. The closing of the PIPE is conditioned on the concurrent closing of the TMTG Business Combination and other closing conditions as set forth in the SPA. NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Emerging Growth Company The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. F-11 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering Offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. These costs were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. On September 8, 2021, offering costs in the aggregate of $ 15,668,029 were charged to stockholders’ equity (consisting of deferred underwriting commission of $ 10,062,500 , fair value of the representative shares of $ 1,437,500 and other cash offering costs of $ 4,168,029 ). Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption As discussed in Note 3, all of the 28,750,000 shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. F-12 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Class A common stock subject to possible redemption reflected on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 is reconciled in the following table: Gross Proceeds $ 287,500,000 Less: Proceeds allocated to public warrants ( 9,727,562 ) Class A common stock issuance costs ( 22,528,112 ) Plus: Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value 38,005,674 Class A common stock subject to possible redemption $ 293,250,000 Income Taxes The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined United States is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2021 and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company has identified the United States and Florida as major tax jurisdictions. The Company is subject to examination by these taxing authorities since inception. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with foreign tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. Net Loss Per Share The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. The Company applies the two-class method in calculating income loss per share of common stock. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stock is excluded from income loss per common share as the redemption value approximates fair value. The calculation of diluted loss per share of common stock does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, and (ii) the private placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As of December 31, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net loss per common share is the same as basic net loss per common share for the periods presented. F-13 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $ 250,000 . At December 31, 2021, the Company had not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature. Derivative Financial Instruments The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Derivative instruments are initially recorded at fair value on the grant date and re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. The Company accounts for the warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. The Company has determined that the warrants qualify for equity treatment in the Company’s financial statements. Recently Issued Accounting Standards Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements. Risks and Uncertainties Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING On September 8, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 28,750,000 Units, at $ 10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $ 287,500,000 . Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $ 11.50 per share (see Note 7). As of September 8, 2021, the Company incurred offering costs of approximately $ 15,668,029 , consisting of deferred underwriting commissions of $ 10,062,500 , fair value of representative shares of $ 1,437,500 and other offering costs of $ 4,168,029 . F-14 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 1,133,484 Placement Units at a price of $ 10.00 per Placement Unit (or $ 11,334,840 in the aggregate). The Sponsor initially transferred $ 13,203,590 to the Trust Account on September 8, 2021. The excess proceeds ($ 1,869,110 ) over the proceeds of the Private Placement were transferred back to the Company’s operating account and returned to the Sponsor. The proceeds from the sale of the Placement Units were added to the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. The Placement Units are identical to the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Placement Units and their component securities will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the consummation of the initial Business Combination except to permitted transferees and are entitled to registration rights. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the warrants included in the Placement Units (the “Placement Warrants”) will expire worthless. NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Class B Common stock During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 8,625,000 shares of Class B common stock or Founder Shares to the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $ 25,000 in cash. On July 2, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 10,000 Founder Shares to its Chief Financial Officer and 7,500 Founder Shares to each of its independent directors. The Company estimated the fair value of these transferred shares to be $ 221,000 . On September 2, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered to the Company an aggregate of 1,437,500 shares of Class B common stock for cancellation for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding. The number of Founder Shares issued represented 20 % of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (assuming the initial stockholders do not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering and excluding the Placement Units and underlying securities). All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the surrender of these shares. With certain limited exceptions, the shares of Class B common stock are not transferable, assignable by the Sponsor until the earlier to occur of: (A) six months after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination and (B) subsequent to the Company’s initial Business Combination, (x) if the reported last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $ 12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30 -trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Company’s initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the Placement Units, Placement Shares, Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock underlying the Placement Warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination. Promissory Note — Related Party On December 11, 2020, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $ 300,000 , of which $ 0 was outstanding under the note as of December 31, 2021. The note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) September 30, 2021 or (ii) the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. F-15 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Administrative Services Arrangement An affiliate of the Sponsor has agreed, commencing from the date when the Company’s Registration Statement was declared effective through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to make available to the Company certain general and administrative services, including office space, utilities and administrative services, as the Company may require from time to time. The Company has agreed to pay the affiliate of the Sponsor $ 15,000 per month for these services. $ 56,000 of expense was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2021. Related Party Loans In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $ 1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon consummation of a Business Combination into additional units at a price of $ 10.00 per unit. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. In November 2021, the Sponsor committed to provide loans of up to an aggregate of $ 1,000,000 to the Company through September 8, 2022, which loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and will be payable upon the consummation of a Business Combination. NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Registration Rights The holders of the Founder Shares, the holders of representative shares as well as the holders of the Placement Units (and underlying securities) and any securities issued in payment of Working Capital Loans made to the Company, are entitled to registration rights pursuant to an agreement signed on the effective date of the Initial Public Offering. The holders of a majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the underwriters (and/or their designees) may participate in a “piggy-back” registration only during the seven year period beginning on the effective date of the Initial Public Offering. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, under FINRA Rule 5110, the underwriters and/or their designees may only make a demand registration (i) on one occasion and (ii) during the five-year period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Initial Public Offering, and the underwriters and/or their designees may participate in a “piggy-back” registration only during the seven-year period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Initial Public Offering. Underwriting Agreement The underwriters purchased the 3,750,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the Initial Public Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters are entitled to a cash underwriting discount of: (i) one point twenty-five percent ( 1.25 %) of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $ 3,593,750 , with the underwriters’ over-allotment having been exercised in full; (ii) zero point five percent ( 0.50 %) of the total number of shares of Class A common stock F-16 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS issued in the Initial Public Offering, or 143,750 shares of Class A common stock. In addition, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting commissions of three point five percent ( 3.50 %) of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $ 10,062,500 upon closing of the Business Combination. The deferred underwriting commissions will be paid in cash upon the closing of a Business Combination from the amounts held in the Trust Account, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. Right of First Refusal Subject to certain conditions, the Company granted the underwriter, for a period of 24 months after the date of the consummation of the Business Combination, a right of first refusal to act as sole book runner, and/or sole placement agent, at the representative’s sole discretion, for each and every future public and private equity and debt offering, including all equity linked financings for the Company or any of its successors or subsidiaries. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(6)(A), such right of first refusal shall not have a duration of more than three years from the effective date of the Registration Statement. NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $ 0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors. At December 31, 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding. Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $ 0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. On September 8, 2021, the Company issued 143,750 shares of Class A common stock (“representative shares”) to the underwriter. The Company accounts for the representative shares as an expense of the Initial Public Offering resulting in a charge directly to stockholders’ equity, at an estimated fair value of $ 1,437,500 . At December 31, 2021, there were 28,750,000 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding that are subject to possible redemption, and accordingly, such share have been classified outside of permanent equity. At December 31, 2021, there were 1,277,234 shares of Class A common stock included in stockholders’ equity. Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $ 0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. On September 2, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 1,437,500 shares of Class B common stock for cancellation for no consideration. At December 31, 2021, there were 7,187,500 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding, of which 1,650,000 shares were transferred to qualified institutional buyers. The shares of Class B Common Stock held by the Sponsor, officers and directors of the Company and institutional buyers represent 20 % of the issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (assuming those initial stockholders do not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering and excluding the Placement Shares). Shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments. Warrants — The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the consummation of a Business Combination. The warrants will expire five years from the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. F-17 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the warrants: • in whole and not in part; • at a price of $ 0.01 per warrant; • at any time after the warrants become exercisable; • upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; • if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $ 18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within a 30 -trading day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders; and • if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying such warrants. If the Company calls the warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities, for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $ 9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors, and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the sponsor or its affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60 % of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company completes a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $ 9.20 per share, the exercise price of the F-18 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115 % of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $ 18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180 % of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. The Private Warrants, as well as any warrants underlying additional units the Company issues to the Sponsor, officers, directors, initial stockholders or their affiliates in payment of Working Capital Loans made to the Company, will be identical to the Public Warrants and may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination and will be entitled to registration rights. NOTE 8. TAXES The Company’s net deferred tax assets is as follows: For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 Deferred tax assets: Net operating losses $ 45,896 Start up costs 283,512 Total deferred tax assets 329,408 Valuation Allowance ( 329,408 ) Deferred tax asset, net of allowance $ — Below is breakdown of the income tax provision. For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 Federal Current $ — Deferred ( 290,744 ) State and local Current — Deferred ( 38,664 ) Change in valuation allowance 329,408 Income tax provision $ — As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $ 192,902 of U.S. federal and state operating loss carryovers that do not expire and are available to offset future taxable income. In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the change in the valuation allowance was $ 329,408 . F-19 Table of Contents DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows: For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 U.S. federal statutory rate 21.0 % State tax, net of federal benefit 2.79 % Valuation allowance ( 23.79 )% Income tax provision — The effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate of 21 % for the year ended December 31, 2021, due to the valuation allowance recorded on the Company’s net operating losses and state taxes. The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities. The Company’s tax returns since inception remain open to examination by the taxing authorities. The Company considers Florida to be a significant state tax jurisdiction.​​​​​​​ NOTE 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS In accordance with ASC Topic 855, “Subsequent Events”, which establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued, the Company has evaluated all events or transactions that occurred after December 31, 2021, up to the date the Company issued the financial statements. Based upon this review the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements. F-20 Table of Contents EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit No. Description 1.1 Underwriting Agreement, dated September 2, 2021, by and between the Company and EF Hutton, a division of Benchmark Investments, Inc. (4) 2.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 20, 2021, by and among DWAC, Merger Sub, Company Representative, TMTG and TMTG Representative (5) + 3.1 Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (4) 3.2 By Laws (1) 3.3 Form of Certificate of Designation of Preferred Stock (6) 4.1 Specimen Unit Certificate (2) 4.2 Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate (2) 4.3 Specimen Warrant Certificate (2) 4.4 Warrant Agreement, dated September 2, 2021, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent (4) 4.5 Description of Registered Securities.* 10.1 Letter Agreement among the Registrant and our officers, directors and ARC Global Investments II LLC (4) 10.2 Amended and Restated Promissory Note, dated August 20, 2021, issued to ARC Global Investments II LLC (3) 10.3 Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated September 2, 2021, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee (4) 10.4 Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 2, 2021, by and among the Company and certain security holders (4) 10.5 Securities Subscription Agreement, dated January 20, 2021, between the Registrant and ARC Global Investments II LLC (1) 10.6 Unit Subscription Agreement, dated September 2, 2021, between the Company and the Sponsor (4) 10.7 Administrative Support Agreement by and between the Company and Benessere Enterprises Inc. (4) 10.8 Form of Voting Agreement (5) 10.9 Form of Lock-Up Agreement (5) 10.10 Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 4, 2021, by and between DWAC and the investors named therein (6) 10.11 Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of December 4, 2021, by and between DWAC and the investors named therein (6) 14 Form of Code of Ethics (2) 31.1 Certification of the Principal Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).* 31.2 Certification of the Principal Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).* 32.1 Certification of the Principal Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350** Table of Contents Exhibit No. Description 32.2 Certification of the Principal Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350** 99.1 Audit Committee Charter (2) 99.2 Compensation Committee Charter (2) 101.INS Inline XBRL Instance Document* 101.SCH Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document* 101.CAL Inline XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document* 101.LAB Inline XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document* 101.PRE Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Document* 101.DEF Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document* 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (Embedded as Inline XBRL document and contained in Exhibit 101).* * Filed herewith. ** Furnished herewith. + Certain exhibits and schedules to this Exhibit have been omitted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 601(b)(2). DWAC agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted exhibit or schedule to the SEC upon its request. (1) Incorporated herein by reference to relevant exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on May 26, 2021. (2) Incorporated herein by reference to relevant exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on July 26, 2021. (3) Incorporated herein by reference to relevant exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on August 20, 2021. (4) Incorporated herein by reference to relevant exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on September 9, 2021. (5) Incorporated herein by reference to relevant exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021. (6) Incorporated herein by reference to relevant exhibits to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 6, 2021. Table of Contents SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. DATE: April 13, 2022 DIGITAL WORLD ACQUISITION CORP. By: /s/ Patrick Orlando Name: Patrick Orlando Title: Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. Name Position Date /s/ Patrick Orlando Patrick Orlando Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) April 13, 2022 /s/ Luis Orleans-Braganza Luis Orleans-Braganza Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) April 13, 2022 /s/ Lee Jacobson Lee Jacobson Director April 13, 2022 /s/ Bruce J. Garelick Bruce J. Garelick Director April 13, 2022 /s/ Justin Shaner Justin Shaner Director April 13, 2022 /s/ Eric Swider Eric Swider Director April 13, 2022 /s/ Rodrigo Veloso Rodrigo Veloso Director April 13, 2022