Marijuana Business Magazine - March 2018

landlords, neighbors, financial services support, customs policies, etc. – that directly impact timelines and costs. For legal cannabis companies, getting things done gener- ally takes longer and costs more than in other comparable industries. In the situation I referenced earlier we were able to address this specific planning challenge by providing a follow-on investment to support the company’s ongoing growth plan. What is the best investing tip you can share with investors? Simple: Investors actually need to do their diligence. Diligence is what you learn about a potential investment that isn’t provided to you by the company seeking capital, and it matters. Investors should carefully diligence the mar- ket in question, the business assumptions provided and, most importantly, the people. Privateer Closes Record $100 Million Raise Privateer Holdings , the Seattle private equity firm, completed a $100 million Series C funding round, which appears to be the single largest raise in the U.S. canna- bis industry. The round brings Privateer’s total invest- ment raises to more than $200 million. Privateer will use the money for more cannabis acquisitions, especially outside the United States. MJardin Lands $20 Million Denver-based MJardin Group secured $20 million in equity financing that it will use to bankroll marijuana acquisitions. MJardin manages dozens of cultivation facilities for cannabis companies. California Grower Nets $10 Million Canndescent, a major California cultivation company, closed a $10 million Series B offering to finance the launch of new products and expand its production capacity by roughly eightfold. Ancillary MJ Company Nabs $9 Million Denver-based GrowGeneration , which operates retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores in four Western states, raised $9 million through the sale of convertible notes. The firm will spend the money on expansion. B¬G H¬TS A $6 Million Raise for 4Front Cannabis investment and management firm 4Front Holdings raised $6 million through the sale of convertible notes. The company, which is building dispensaries in Illinois, Massachu- setts, Maryland and Pennsylvania, will use the capital to fund its expansion. A Simple Raise Denver-based compliance software company Simplifya secured $1 million in the first stage of a Series B funding round. Simplifya said it has additional investors lined up to close a total funding round of $3 million. Aurora Aims to Raise $187 Million Canadian licensed medical marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis inked an agreement to sell $163 million (CA$200 million) worth of convertible notes to a group of underwriters. The underwriters have the option to purchase an additional $24 million (CA$30 million), bringing the total to $187 million (CA$230 million). Com- pany CEO Terry Booth called the sum “the largest bought deal financing to date in the Canadian cannabis sector.” Number of Note: $140 Billion Bryan, Garnier & Co., a European investment bank, predicted in a new report the global cannabis market will reach $140 billion by 2027, an increase of more than 1,000%. ◆ – Omar Sacirbey What sector, product, state or trend are you most excited about and why? We have been and are still excited about brands that are scalable and can appeal to a broad consumer audience. The bigger the industry becomes, the more important brands will become. Consumers who are currently outside of the category who want to experience cannabis will need an entry point that’s safe, welcoming and accessible to people unfamiliar with the plant. What is your top goal for the coming year? Our primary goal is to continue our mission of assembling the highest-quality management teams and cannabis com- panies in our portfolio. If our current trajectory continues as planned, we would also expect that Tuatara will launch fundraising for our second fund in 2018. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ March 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 13