Trump Media announced a planned all-stock merger with fusion developer TAE Technologies, triggering a sharp rise in DJT shares and signaling a strategic pivot from social media into energy. The proposed transaction pairs Trump Media’s public-market access with TAE’s fusion technology as both seek to accelerate commercialization.
The agreement, described as an all-stock transaction, values the combined business at more than $6 billion and will create a 50/50 ownership split between existing Trump Media and TAE shareholders. Trump Media will provide a $200 million cash infusion at signing and an additional $100 million following a regulatory filing to support near-term development. TAE enters the deal with a prior private valuation of $2.6 billion, making the new valuation a sizeable premium. DJT shares rose sharply on the announcement, boosting investor interest in the company’s transformed profile.
Strategic rationale and operational aims
Company statements frame the merger as a response to growing power demand driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure and as a pathway to scale fusion from prototype systems to utility deployment. TAE plans to begin construction of its first utility-scale fusion power plant in 2026, a timetable the combined group expects to support with the planned capital injections and public financing options.
Fusion power is defined as a carbon-free nuclear technology that replicates the energy-producing processes of stars in controlled conditions.
Analysts have mixed views on execution and political dynamics. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities noted the deal’s political context, saying, “TAE will clearly have major political support from President Trump.” The companies expect the transaction to benefit from recent public and policy interest in fusion development, including federal roadmaps aimed at fostering a domestic fusion industry.
The merger marks a substantive diversification of Trump Media’s business model and a high-profile bid to bring fusion into the public markets; closing remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, with the companies targeting completion by mid-2026. The next verified milestone is the regulatory review and shareholder vote required to finalize the transaction.
