Upstart Ohio medical cannabis firm raises CA$85 million to expand footprint

A young cannabis company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, raised 85 million Canadian dollars ($65 million) that it will use to expand its operations.

Green Growth Brands – whose CEO, Peter Horvath, resigned a year ago from his executive post with Pittsburgh retail giant American Eagle Outfitters – closed the round in Toronto, where the company was incorporated and has an office, according to Columbus Business First.

Horvath told Fox Business his first step will be to expand Green Growth’s retail operations in the United States. The company also aims to team with retailers to release a CBD line of personal care products, Fox Business reported.

According to a Green Growth investor pitch, the company plans to go public on a Canadian exchange this fall, Columbus Business First reported.

The company started to take shape in 2017. That’s when one of Canada’s biggest marijuana companies, Aphria, partnered with the Columbus-based Schottenstein family – which owns American Eagle and footwear retailer DSW – in a successful bid to win one of Ohio’s medical marijuana business licenses.

Green Growth has since acquired medical marijuana operators and companies that provide CBD-infused lotions and other products, Columbus Business First reported.

The cannabis company is stacked with managers who once worked at American Outfitters, DSW, Victoria’s Secret and others. They believe the company can offer cannabis consumers a better retail experience than what is currently available.

The president of the Schottenstein Property Group, Ben Kraner, and its chief operating officer, Joey Schottenstein, are directors of Green Growth, according to a regulatory filing, Columbus Business First reported.