By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

(Reuters) – Hedge funds who invested in the acquisition company with blank checks that was able to combine with Trump’s social media startup for $875 million are expected to invest five times as much, according to regulatory filings.

According to SPAC Research, it is the largest gain that investors in special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), have recorded the day following a deal’s announcement.

The filings show that nearly a dozen hedge funds were involved in Digital World Acquisition Corp’s initial public offering (IPO), in September. Digital World, like other SPACs did not reveal which company it wanted to purchase.

In the last two years, hundreds of billions have been invested by hedge funds in these vehicles.

Investor excitement has slowed down in recent months, as many companies that have merged with SPACs did not deliver on bullish projections. Retail investors also suffered losses. The stock market has not responded well to the recent deal. Hedge funds have made pennies by investing in SPACs’ IPOs. They then sell their shares on the stock markets or redeem them at their IPO prices.

After Digital World shares jumped over 400% following the announcement of the Trump Media and Technology Group deal, the investment by hedge funds in the IPO is set to quadruple. Digital World was trading at $1.7billion in market value on Thursday when they were still hovering around $50.

D.E. D.E. Shaw oversees $60 Billion in assets and Yakira Capital Management manages $472 Million, according to a regulatory filing.

The filings reveal that Meteora Capital Partners was an affiliate to heavy SPAC investor Glazer Capital LLC. Sander Gerber’s Boothbay Fund Management and Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital Management were Sander Gerber’s Boothbay Fund Management. K2 Principal Fund and Radcliffe Capital Corp – another SPAC investor – also contributed money.

Reps of the firms declined to respond or refused to comment on requests for information.

Trump will also be benefited by Digital World’s rally as most investors in stock markets who bought the shares for more than the $10 IPO price won’t seek redemption at that price. Trump Media and Technology Group are entitled to most, if no less than $293 Million under the merger.

Some hedge fund founders gave money to the Democratic Party. This included President Joe Biden. Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election. Some others backed Trump’s Republican candidate.

Boothbay’s Gerber contributed to Trump’s campaign and backed two Republican Senate candidates in Georgia. Weinstein made a donation to Biden as well as supporting the Democratic candidates for Georgia.

David Shaw (the founder of DE Shaw) donated millions of dollars for liberal political organization Priorities USA Action according to filings. The firms’ representatives either declined or did not reply to requests for comment.

Hedge funds are open to all parties, regardless of their affiliation