Cannabis REIT files to be listed on NYSE

A cannabis-focused real estate investment trust has filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

If approved, it would be the first marijuana-related company to list on the Big Board.

Innovative Industrial Properties, headquartered in San Diego but incorporated in Maryland, filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday saying it plans to sell 8.75 million shares at $20 per share, according to Forbes. New Cannabis Ventures first reported the story.

The offering would value the company at $200 million.

The company’s first tenant is PharmaCann, which has marijuana business operations in Illinois and New York. PharmaCann will sell its 127,000-square-foot grow facility in New York State to Innovative Industrial Properties for $30 million and then lease the property back from the company.

The NYSE’s approval is by no means certain. Quoting a document provided by the Big Board, Forbes noted “the Exchange may deny listing or apply additional or more stringent criteria based on any event, condition, or circumstance that makes the listing of the company inadvisable or unwarranted in the opinion of the Exchange.”

In May, the Nasdaq shot down a listing application by MassRoots, a cannabis-centric social media company. MassRoots said Nasdaq rejected its application because it could be viewed as a business that promotes the distribution of a federally illegal substance.

REITs like Innovative Industrial Properties are companies that own or finance real estate that produces income. REITs offer certain advantages for investors, such as comparatively high yields, relatively straightforward tax rules and liquidity because their shares are bought and sold on a stock exchange.