Key Highlights
- Shares of Aureus Greenway Holdings (AUGS) rocketed 55% following Wall Street Journal coverage of its planned merger with Trump family-supported drone manufacturer Powerus.
- The arrangement functions as a reverse merger, providing Powerus with a pathway to Nasdaq listing.
- Powerus aims to manufacture over 10,000 drones each month and has completed three company acquisitions within six months.
- Financing includes a $9 million private placement with Dominari Securities serving as placement agent.
- The deal benefits from Pentagon’s $1.1 billion Drone Dominance program and restrictions on Chinese-made drones.
Shares of Aureus Greenway Holdings (AUGS) climbed 55% on Monday following a Wall Street Journal report detailing a merger agreement with Powerus, a drone manufacturing firm supported by the sons of President Trump.
Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc., AGH
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are backing Powerus via American Ventures, their collaborative investment platform. The transaction takes the form of a reverse merger, positioning Powerus for a Nasdaq debut in the coming months.
Founded in the previous year and headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, Powerus manufactures both aerial and maritime unmanned systems. The company has completed three acquisitions over the last half-year.
According to Powerus, the company is pursuing production capacity exceeding 10,000 drones monthly. This output level would position it among the highest-volume drone producers in the United States.
Additional backers in this transaction include Unusual Machines, where Donald Trump Jr. serves as an advisory board member and maintains an ownership position. South Korea’s Corporate Governance Improvement Fund has also pledged $50 million toward the deal.
Dominari Securities, a financial institution with Trump family connections, is serving as the placement agent for the financing component.
Transaction Framework
On March 8, 2026, Aureus Greenway entered into an agreement to merge its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aureus Merger Sub Inc., with Autonomous Power Corporation through an all-stock transaction. All outstanding shares, options, and warrants of the target company will be converted into Aureus equity based on a predetermined exchange ratio.
The terms feature a potential earn-out provision worth up to 50 million additional shares contingent on achieving specific performance targets. Control of the board and executive management will transition to Autonomous Power’s current leadership team upon transaction completion.
Required closing conditions encompass shareholder approval, Nasdaq listing authorization, and a $9 million private placement at $3.00 per share. This placement was finalized with institutional and accredited investors on March 6, 2026.
The agreement incorporates lock-up provisions and leak-out mechanisms to regulate share sales following the merger’s close.
Defense Department Support
The transaction comes at a strategic moment as the Pentagon advances its Drone Dominance initiative, an ambitious program allocating $1.1 billion to acquire hundreds of thousands of domestically-manufactured unmanned systems through 2027.
The current administration has implemented restrictions on new Chinese drone acquisitions within the United States, creating expanded market opportunities for American manufacturers such as Powerus.
Powerus Chief Executive Andrew Fox indicated that pursuing a reverse merger strategy would provide the company with access to public equity markets, facilitating manufacturing expansion and supporting additional acquisition activity.
Aureus Greenway presently carries a market capitalization of $73.47 million. Prior to the announcement, average daily share volume stood at 49,011.
Following the merger disclosure, technical sentiment indicators classify AUGS as a Strong Buy.
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