Curaleaf finalizes Grassroots deal, grows marijuana footprint to 23 states

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Marijuana multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings said Thursday it has completed its acquisition of privately held Grassroots Cannabis, expanding Curaleaf’s presence to 135 dispensary locations and licenses in 23 states.

The original value of the deal was $875 million, but Massachusetts-based Curaleaf in June announced an amended agreement that reflected a selloff of unspecified Grassroots assets in Illinois, Maryland and Ohio to comply with license caps in those locations.

Analysts at that time put the value of the revised deal at about $700 million.

Curaleaf said it has appointed Mitchell Kahn, co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based Grassroots, to its now six-member board of directors.

Here are key business aspects of the deal, according to a news release:

  • The acquisition expands Curaleaf’s footprint from 18 to 23 states.
  • Curaleaf said it now will have 88 operational dispensaries, 30 processing facilities and 22 grow sites with a total of 1.6 million square feet of cultivation capacity.
  • The transaction, the company said, accelerates its expansion into Illinois, the country’s newest recreational marijuana market, and Pennsylvania, a growing medical cannabis market.
  • Remaining Maryland operations previously affiliated with Grassroots might be transferred to Curaleaf after a statutory three-year ownership holding period expires. The transfer is subject to regulatory approval and compliance with license caps.

Curaleaf trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange as CURA.

Shares were up slightly to $9.75 Canadian dollars in early trading Thursday.