(DWAC), the funding partner for Trump Media & Technology Group, announced that it has obtained regulatory approval from securities regulators to proceed with a long-awaited merger. If completed, former President Donald Trump could potentially hold a stake valued at nearly $4 billion.

DWAC, a special-purpose acquisition company, revealed in a statement on Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had given the green light for its proposed merger with Trump Media. The company intends to announce the voting date for shareholders within the next two days.

While the SEC does not comment on individual issuers, the news of regulatory clearance resulted in a 15.2% surge in DWAC's shares, which rose by $6.63 to reach $50.18 during early afternoon trading.

This regulatory approval is a significant victory for Trump and his media enterprise, particularly the conservative-leaning Truth Social platform. The merger has been in progress since October 2021 but experienced delays due to regulatory concerns and other obstacles.

DWAC's plan for the merger is to provide Trump Media with the necessary capital to expand its operations. However, as the merger process protracted, DWAC returned hundreds of millions of financing commitments to investors.

Should the merger go through, Trump is expected to possess nearly 79 million shares in the newly merged company, representing approximately 69% of the combined entity. Based on DWAC's stock price on Thursday, this stake could be valued at up to $3.95 billion, giving Trump a significant financial interest in the venture.

In a statement accompanying DWAC's announcement, Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes, a former Republican House member, expressed his enthusiasm for the news, stating, "Moving forward, we aim to accelerate our work to build a free speech highway outside the stifling stranglehold of Big Tech."

Trump Media & Technology Group has shown positive revenue growth, reporting $3.4 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2023. This marks a significant increase from the $237,000 reported during the same period the previous year.

With regulatory hurdles cleared, the stage is now set for the completion of the Trump Media & Technology Group merger. Trump's potential multi-billion-dollar stake positions him to make a significant impact in the media landscape and advance his vision for a platform that champions free speech.