Cresco Labs plans to acquire four medical cannabis dispensaries in Ohio

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Cresco Labs, a vertically integrated multistate marijuana company, said it agreed to purchase four Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries, currently operated by Verdant Creations, as the Illinois-based company increased its investment in what’s shaping up to be a lucrative market.

Cresco will pay $375,000 in cash for each store as well as $500,000 of the company’s subordinate voting shares.

The acquisition, which must be approved by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, will give Cresco Labs a total of five dispensaries in the state, the maximum allowed by law.

The four dispensaries are located in Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Marion and Newark. They will join Cresco’s existing Ohio store, CY+ in Wintersville, which in 2018 became the first dispensary to receive approval to open in the state.

“We expect to drive increased revenue growth and operating leverage in this limited-license state,” Cresco’s CEO and founder, Charlie Bachtell, said in a news release.

Bachtell also pointed out that Ohio has 100,000-plus registered patients and experienced more than 30% growth in average weekly sales from February to April.

“With our experience in Illinois and Pennsylvania, we think Ohio is on its way to joining these states as one of the strongest-performing regulated cannabis programs in the country,” he added.

Ohio has experienced strong sales this year despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Through the end of April, roughly $50 million of medical marijuana was sold in Ohio, nearly matching the $58 million dispensaries in the state sold for the entirety of 2019.