Nov 8 (Reuters) - Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O) is pitching prospective investors to back private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions supporting its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with former U.S. President Donald Trump"s social media venture, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The talks are at an early stage and hedge fund investors were pitched for investment in the past few days, the sources said. They said DWAC aims to sell PIPEs at well over $10 per share. Most PIPEs for special purpose acquisition companies are sold at $10 per share. DWAC has seen its stock jump almost 500% since its link with Trump"s Truth Social venture network was announced. Digital World and Trump Media & Technology Group were not immediately available for a comment. Trump and other Trump Media & Technology Group shareholders will initially own 69% of the combined company after the merger with the Miami-based blank-check firm, a regulatory filing showed last month. read more Bloomberg had earlier reported DWAC"s fundraising plans. Reporting by Uday Sampath and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Kenneth Maxwell