Ascend turns up heat on MedMen over axed New York cannabis acquisition deal

Ascend Wellness Holdings says MedMen Enterprises’ attempt to terminate a New York acquisition deal is “essentially challenging (New York) regulators’ authority and ignoring the regulations of the state’s medical program.”

Ascend also reiterated its call for MedMen to close the transaction.

In a Thursday news release, Ascend alleged that MedMen’s attempt to end a deal in which Ascend would buy most of MenMen’s New York cannabis business was based on the parties having “not received approval by the applicable state regulators to satisfy the closing conditions.”

But the position that certain conditions weren’t satisfied “is absurd,” Ascend Chief Financial Officer Dan Neville wrote in a Jan. 6 letter to Dan Edwards, MedMen’s senior vice president of legal affairs.

Ascend filed the letter with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and also publicized it in the Thursday release.

According to the letter, Ascend is concerned that MedMen “(has) failed to maintain compliance with their regulatory obligations under applicable laws and regulations of the State of New York.”

Specifically, Ascend alleges, MedMen and company parties appear not to have obtained approvals for changes of control of the company or delivered to regulators notices of changes in corporate officers.

An attached letter from the New York State Office of Cannabis Management claims the regulator did approve the change of ownership of MedMen NY.

MedMen had not issued another news release in response to Ascend as of early Thursday afternoon.