Marijuana Business Magazine - January 2017

COMPANY NEWS & Recent deals, acquisitions and other announcements from North American cannabis companies Wheelin' Dealin' by Omar Sacirbey U.S. DEVELOPMENTS Marijuana REIT Buys Arizona Property for $15 Million, Strikes Lease Deal Innovative Industrial Properties – a San Diego-based real estate investment trust (REIT) which leases real estate to medical marijuana businesses – has agreed to buy an Arizona property for $15 million. The property comprises over 350,000 square feet of greenhouse and industrial space. The deal involves a sale-leaseback transaction with a subsidiary of The Pharm, one of Ari- zona’s largest wholesalers of MMJ. Under the agreement, The Pharm unit plans to con- tinue to use the facility for medical cannabis cultivation. The Pharm subsidiary is also expected to make certain improvements to the property after the deal closes. Inno- vative Industrial Properties will reimburse the subsidiary for up to $3 million, meaning the REIT’s total investment in the property could total as much as $18 million. The lease is set to last for 15 years, with two options to extend the term for two additional five-year periods. The lease provides for an initial annualized aggregate base rent of $2.5 million. MariMed Buys Grow Site for Client MariMed, a Newton, Massachusetts, holding com- pany with operations in several states, has purchased a 137,500-square-foot industrial building on 17 acres in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for $6.9 million. MariMed will develop approximately 70,000 square feet into a “state- of-the–art” medical cannabis cultivation and production facility that has been leased to ARL Healthcare, a nonprofit Massachusetts grower. MariMed helped ARL Healthcare with its successful application to be awarded a Massachu- setts dispensary license. Marley MJ Company Expanding Julian Marley, son of reggae icon Bob Marley, was a busy entrepre- neur in late 2017. His marijuana company, JuJu Royal, struck a part- nership with G FarmaBrands to distribute JuJu brand products to recreational shops and medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern California under the state’s newly regulated MJ market. California-based G FarmaBrands – through its subsidiary Finka Distribution – said it distributes to more than 1,100 cannabis stores. Besides California, JuJu Royal has distribution in Washington state, Colorado and Puerto Rico. It also has a CBD-only product in the United Kingdom. Marley also announced a partnership with the Mari- cann Group, which has a medical cannabis production facility in Ontario to produce and distribute JuJu products in Canada. The three-year deal also gives JuJu the first right of refusal for distribution in Europe. 98 • Marijuana Business Magazine • January 2018