YouTube Finally Has a Serious Competitor, and the Company Just Went Public (VIDEO)
The entire country, flush with cash via stimulus cheques, was the perfect breeding ground for SPAC interest. Enterprising investment bankers knew they could entice the public by starting a SPAC and announcing a planned takeover of a popular brand or emerging company. Upstart industries like crypto, cannabis and social media have been some of the more popular targets of SPACs.
It is this latest social media that is generating the most headlines. Perhaps the most famous SPAC in the world, Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: DWAC), has been in the news thanks to its ongoing attempts to take the parent company of Donald Trump’s social media platform (Truth Social) public. Numerous issues have hampered Digital World’s attempts to take over the Trump Media and Technology Group, the most pressing of which is the lack of shareholder approval for the merger.
Another social media company is not having the same issues with their go-public merger. YouTube alternative Rumble (NASDAQ: RUM) went public this morning under the symbol “RUM” after shareholders of SPAC CF Acquisition Corp. VI (NASDAQ: CFVI) gave their approval for the merger to move forward. YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL, GOOG), have deep pockets, so Rumble has its work cut out for them. However, RUM stock is off to a great start on its first day of trading, up over +37%.
Source: Rumble
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Rumble is most well-known as a haven for creators who have been kicked off other platforms; it counts Infowars host Alex Jones and a cadre of QAnon influencers among its ranks. The company reports it draws in 78 million unique visitors each month; for comparison, YouTube claims over 2 billion unique visitors monthly. Rumble made headlines earlier this year when the company publically offered Joe Rogan $100 million to move his hugely popular JRE Podcast from Spotify to Rumble.
On February 7, 2022, Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski posted the open letter below to his Twitter account, officially offering Rogan $100 million to switch platforms. Rogan, who is under contract with Spotify, reportedly turned down the eight figure deal.
Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @chrispavlovski… pic.twitter.com/G7ahfNNjtP
— Rumble – ????☠️ $RUM (@rumblevideo) February 7, 2022
In addition to hosting user-generated content, Rumble is engaged in producing its own shows for broadcast on the platform; announced thus far are shows from actor Russell Brand and journalist Glenn Greenwald. Rumble also manages ad sales for other companies, including Truth Social.
In an SEC filing related to the merger, Rumble founder Chris Pavlovski wrote:
Shares of Rumble are currently changing hands at $16.52 per share, up +37.21% on the day.
Learn more about Rumble: Website | Investor Deck | RUM Chart
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Disclaimer: Wealthy VC does not hold a position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article.