Marijuana Business Magazine September 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | September 2019 22 Recent deals, acquisitions and other announcements from North American cannabis companies By Omar Sacirbey Company News | U.S. & Canada Curaleaf Expands Reach with Grassroots Buy Massachusetts-based Curaleaf , a cannabis company with a market cap of about $3.6 billion, bought Grassroots , a privately owned marijuana business head- quartered in Chicago, for $875 million in cash and stock. The transaction—$75 million of it in cash, the rest in stock—expands Curaleaf’s presence from 12 to 19 states. The combined company will have 131 dispensary licenses, 68 operational locations, 20 cultivation sites and 26 processing facilities. With the acquisition, Curaleaf also will add new markets in Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Vermont and build on its existing businesses in Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada and Ohio. The news comes on the heels of a Curaleaf expan- sion spree that included a May 1 announcement of the company’s plans to buy Cura Partners in a roughly $949 million deal. U.S. and Canadian Giants Complete Merger Vancouver, British Columbia-based Cannex Capital Holdings , a cannabis company with a cultivation and manufacturing presence in Washington state, and Phoenix-based multistate retail operator 4Front Holdings , completed a roughly $485 million merger in July. The new entity, 4Front Ventures Corp ., began trading in early August on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The deal was expected to close in February. Cannex’s Washington state affiliate, Northwest Cannabis Solutions, manufactures more than 100,000 cartridges, 200,000 edibles packs and 200,000 pre-rolls per quarter. Since 2011, 4Front Holdings has helped launch and operate more than 20 dispensaries in nine states. Green Growth Gets Moxie, Spring Oaks Green Growth Brands (GGB), a multistate cannabis company based in Columbus, Ohio, agreed to pay $310 million in stock for multistate operator Moxie . Based in Long Beach, California, Moxie sells both recreational and medical cannabis products from 250 retail outlets and dispensaries in five states. GGB also acquired Spring Oaks Greenhouses in Florida for $54.7 million. The purchase price for the shares of Spring Oaks’ capital stock included $26.2 million in cash, $17.1 million in GGB stock and a convertible secured promissory note in the amount of $11.4 million. Florida MSO Makes Play for Pennsylvania Cannabis firm Jushi , a Florida-based multistate oper- ator (MSO), closed an agreement to acquire Franklin Bioscience of Pennsylvania in a $63 million deal. The purchase price for Franklin, which holds licenses for up to 12 medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania, is a combination of cash, debt and stock. Jushi has entered into various acquisition agreements since it started trading on Canada’s NEO exchange under the ticker symbol JUSH on June 10. Harvest Gets Loan, Acquires Urban Greenhouse Harvest Health & Recreation , a Phoenix-based multistate cannabis operator, secured a loan of up to $225 million to help accelerate growth. The loan, to be structured in three $75 million tranches, is backed by Miami-based Torian Capital Partners . Torian Capital invests in both private and public cannabis companies. Harvest said the proceeds will be used for working capital, strategic acquisitions and general corporate purposes. The loan will be secured by Harvest assets, including current and future dispensary licenses. That transaction is not expected to close until the end of this year amid antitrust concerns. Additionally, Harvest announced the acquisition of Phoenix operator Urban Greenhouse . The agreement advances the company’s expansion and market- penetration efforts across Arizona. Charlotte’s Web Expands Retail, Joins Research Project Charlotte’s Web in Boulder, Colorado, announced that U.S. grocer The Kroger Co. has started carrying Charlotte’s Web products in multiple states. The company plans to sell its topical CBD product at 1,350 store locations in 22 states. Charlotte’s Web products will be available at stores such as Kroger, Dillons, Fry’s, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Mariano’s, Pick ’n Save, QFC and Smith’s. U.S. DEVELOPMENTS