(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump Jr. is joining the board of PSQ Holdings Inc., the owner of online marketplace PublicSquare, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company’s shares almost doubled in early New York trading.
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Trump, who recently began as a partner at investment firm 1789 Capital, is set to join PSQ’s board as early as Tuesday, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the appointment hasn’t been announced publicly. West Palm Beach, Florida-based PSQ declined to comment. Trump didn’t reply to a request for comment.
PublicSquare aims to connect “patriotic” businesses and consumers and has sought to build a so-called “parallel economy,” which it defines as prioritizing faith and family.
PSQ is led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Seifert, who met Trump in 2022 through a mutual friend, Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, one of the people said.
Trump Jr. later provided an introduction to both Omeed Malik, who agreed to take the company public in February 2023 through a special purpose acquisition company, and Nick Ayers, a member of PSQ’s board who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, the person said. Trump Jr. invested in the company early that year and currently owns more than 550,000 shares.
Shares of PSQ tumbled 61% this year through Monday, leaving it with a market capitalization of $71.6 million. The stock jumped 92% to $3.95 at 8:13 a.m. in early New York trading.
In October, PSQ launched a payments company and expects to process more than $1.8 billion of gun and firearm-related transactions next year, according to one of the people. In an earnings call last month, Seifert said the firm may generate positive cash flow toward the end of 2025.
(Updates with share reaction in first and sixth paragraphs.)
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