Former President Donald Trump is facing a lawsuit accusing him of attempting to dilute the value of stock shares in his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The lawsuit, filed by United Atlantic Ventures (UAV), alleges that TMTG engaged in "wrongful 11th hour... maneuvering" to dilute UAV's minority stake in the media company, potentially depriving them of millions in profits.

The Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit comes ahead of a planned merger between TMTG and Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), a shell company. If approved, the merger could result in billions of dollars for Trump, which would help him address over $500 million in civil judgments in New York.

UAV, a partnership of Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, claims they initially pitched the idea of creating Trump Media to Trump in February 2021 after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Capitol riot. The partnership accuses TMTG of attempting to deprive them of their rightful stake in the company, despite their contributions in building and launching Truth Social, the social media platform used by Trump.

The lawsuit alleges that TMTG's actions would dilute UAV's current 8.6% stake in TMTG to less than 1% by approving an eight-fold increase in the total number of authorized shares in the company. UAV argues that there is no legitimate business purpose for this increase, claiming that the move is solely intended to allow Trump to take a majority share of the merger consideration.

Christopher Clark, the lawyer representing UAV, stated that their aim is to prevent TMTG from diluting their stake in the company, emphasizing that UAV's co-founders had put in the work to create Truth Social. Clark highlighted Trump's history of contesting bills from contractors and lawyers, stating that this situation is unfortunately not unique.

The lawsuit, seeking injunctive relief against the dilution effort, is currently sealed in the Delaware court. However, UAV has filed a motion asking for an expedited suit. The merger between TMTG and DWAC, which had been delayed for two years due to investigations, has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. DWAC shareholders are set to vote on the merger on March 22.

CNBC has reached out to spokesmen for Trump, TMTG, and DWAC for comment on the lawsuit.