How to short-sell Trump’s media empire

Donald Trump’s would-be media empire looks like a promising target for short sellers. Matthew Partridge explains how to play it.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump: still on the campaign trail
(Image credit: © ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Imagine a technology company run by a 75-year old with a history of multiple bankruptcies, in sectors ranging from airlines to casinos. Let’s also imagine that the individual in question is being investigated by various bodies across the US for everything from questionable tax reporting practices to opaque business dealings.

Let’s add to the picture the fact that, far from focusing his mind on the day-to-day running of his business, he will also be spending most of the next two years in an attempt to run for president (again). To top it all off, his new company is entering the market not via a traditional initial public offering (IPO), but via a special purpose acquisition company (Spac), or cash shell – typically speculative financial vehicles set up to engineer instant stockmarket listings.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri