March 22 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump

came a step closer on Friday to reaping a major windfall from

his social media firm after investors in a blank-check

acquisition company approved a tie-up currently worth about $6

billion.

The deal values Trump's majority stake in the company that

holds his app Truth Social at about $3.6 billion. The windfall

could prove vital as Trump grapples with the financial fallout

of a string of legal cases against him, including a $454 million

judgment in a civil fraud case in New York.

Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp ( DWAC )

, the SPAC that plans to list Trump Media & Technology

Group on the stock market through a merger, voted in favor of

the deal on Friday.

While the next step would be for the deal to be completed

next week, its future is fraught with uncertainty. Digital

World's former CEO Patrick Orlando and former Trump business

associates Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss have separately sued to

block the merger, arguing they are entitled to more shares for

their previous work on the deal.

It's unclear how and when these cases will be resolved. Even

if the deal gets completed next week, Trump will not be allowed

to sell any of his shares in the combined company for six months

or borrow against them, based on terms he previously agreed.