Powerus Drone Deal Backed By Trump Sons Heads To Nasdaq

Aureus Greenway Holdings surged as much as 24% after it agreed to combine with Powerus, a drone business backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The jump put a market price on a fresh slice of the Trump family’s defense investing as the Pentagon accelerates unmanned procurement.

Powerus said Monday the transaction would take the West Palm Beach, Florida-based company public via a merger with Nasdaq-listed Aureus Greenway, a golf course operator. Aureus shares were up 12% at $5.47 by late morning in New York, after the initial spike. Dominari Holdings advised, and the Korea Climate & Governance Improvement Fund committed $50 million, according to the announcement and related reporting.

The timing tracks a broader re-rating of drone supply chains. The Defense Department is working on a $1.1 billion initiative to procure hundreds of thousands of drones by 2027 and build out domestic manufacturing capacity, a demand signal that private capital is now trying to front-run.

Powerus is positioning as a consolidator, with co-founder Brett Velicovich saying the listing would fund acquisitions and expansion across businesses it already owns, including Kaizen Aerospace, Tandem Defense, and Agile Autonomy. “America had been losing the drone race for a while to countries like China,” Velicovich said, adding: “That era is over.”

The deal extends a run of first-family drone ties. Eric Trump backed a separate $1.5 billion transaction last month involving Israeli tactical-drone firm Xtend, and drone parts maker Unusual Machines has been linked to both deals, with Trump Jr. serving as an adviser since 2024.

Next catalyst is the merger process itself, including filings, shareholder approvals, and any updated capital plan for scaling production and integrating the acquired units. Investors will also watch whether Powerus can translate a public listing into measurable Pentagon traction as new drone-buying programs move from policy to purchase orders.