Marijuana Business Magazine January 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | January 2019 106 Company News | U.S. & Canada Recent deals, acquisitions and other announcements from North American cannabis companies By Omar Sacirbey MedMen Acquisitions MedMen Enterprises, one of the biggest multistate operators in the United States, expanded its market reach with three key acquisitions. Most notably, the California company agreed to acquire multistate medical marijuana company PharmaCann, based in Oak Park, Illinois, in an all-stock deal valued at $682 million, which is believed to be the largest acqui- sition to date in the U.S. cannabis industry. MedMen also acquired Seven Point, a licensed med- ical cannabis dispensary in Oak Park, and Monarch, a vertically integrated MMJ business in Arizona. The Monarch deal includes Monarch Wellness Center, a Scottsdale medical marijuana dispensary with estimated annual revenue of $10 million, Monarch’s 20,000-square-foot cultivation and processing oper- ations in Mesa, and Monarch’s branded products and wholesale operations, which include distribution to more than 60 dispensaries in the state. Terms of the Seven Point deal were not disclosed. Shortly after the acquisitions, MedMen sold two dispensaries in Southern California and a third in Las Vegas for $12.5 million. MedMen has retail stores and cultivation sites in 12 states. New York’s iAnthus Nearly Doubles Reach With Acquisition Multistate marijuana firm iAnthus Capital agreed to acquire the U.S. assets of Toronto-based cannabis company MPX Bioceutical Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at $640 million (CA$835 million). The acquisi- tion positions New York-based iAnthus as one of the largest U.S. cannabis operators and expands the firm’s footprint to 10 states, nearly doubling its reach. The combined company—excluding MPX International— will include 56 cannabis retail stores and 14 cultivation and processing licenses across 10 states. After the merger, the company will introduce a new brand name for all its stores and products. Cresco Growing Just weeks after closing a $100 million raise, Chicago-based Cresco Labs acquired Arizona Facilities Supply, which provides management services to Encanto Green Cross Dispensary. Encanto is licensed to cultivate, process and dispense medical marijuana across the state. Terms of the deal, which included cash and equity considerations, were not disclosed. Cresco also signed a definitive agreement to acquire FloraMedex, a medical cannabis dispensary located in the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park. Ohio Upstart Closes 2018 With $88 Million in Raises Green Growth Brands, a young cannabis company headquartered in Colum- bus, Ohio, garnered two big raises, both private placements, to close the year—one in September for $65 million and a second for $23.2 million. The firm plans to use the proceeds to expand its footprint in the United States and build out its CBD-infused body care collection. Chicago Firm Lands Florida MMJ License Chicago-based Verano Holdings struck a deal to acquire a prized Florida medical marijuana license from Toronto-based Scythian Biosciences in exchange for a substantial equity investment. The deal, which includes an additional Scythian investment, is valued at $188 million. Under the deal, Scythian will acquire the remaining shares of 3 Boys Farm from CannaCure, and Verano will acquire 3 Boys Farm from Scythian in exchange for $100 million in Verano Class B membership units. Scythian will invest an additional $88 million in Class B mem- bership units in the vertically integrated cannabis company with cultivation, manufacturing and retail facilities in six U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Separately, Verano received $32 million of private financing from Serruya Private Equity, a Canadian private equity firm. U.S. DEVELOPMENTS