Marijuana Business Magazine March 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | March 2019 120 TerrAscend Buys The Apothecarium for $118 Million Canadian marijuana firm TerrAscend agreed to acquire California-based The Apothecarium in a deal worth more than $118 million. The Toronto-based company said the deal’s terms included $73.7 million in cash plus another $44.7 million worth of stock. In return, TerrAscend will receive: • Three retail shops in San Francisco. • A vertically integrated operation in Nevada, including an Apothecarium in Las Vegas. • Edibles manufacturing brand Valhalla Confections, which also has a footprint in the New Mexico medical marijuana market. GTI Makes Connecticut Play Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis company based in Chicago, signed an agreement to acquire Connecticut’s Advanced Grow Labs in a deal valued at roughly $80 million. Advanced Grow Labs, one of only four licensed medical marijuana cultivation and processing companies in the state, owns a 41,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in West Haven and a 46% stake in a not-yet-opened dispensary in Westport. When the deal closes, GTI will have 12 manufacturing facilities and licenses for 85 retail shops in 11 states. TILT Buys Phoenix Vape Tech Firm TILT Holdings , a Massachusetts company specializing in cannabis technology, cultivation and support solutions, agreed to acquire Jupiter Research , a Phoenix-based vaporization technology business, for $210 million. Founded in 2015, Jupiter produces power supplies and cartridges specifically for cannabis oil. The company partners with more than 700 brands in the United States, Canada, the European Union and Israel. Jupiter generated about $77 million in revenue in 2018. TILT’s portfolio companies already include two med- ical cannabis cultivation businesses—Standard Farms, a multistate U.S. operator, and Sante Veritas Holdings, a licensed producer in Canada—as well as Baker Technologies, a customer analytics software company targeting retail stores, and Blackbird, a distribution services and software firm. Surterra of Florida Buys Massachusetts’ NETA Surterra Wellness , a Florida-based medical marijuana firm and producer of CBD prod- ucts that include oils, vaporizers and topical creams, acquired Massachusetts-based cannabis company New England Treatment Access (NETA). Surterra, led by chewing gum billionaireWilliam“Beau” Wrigley Jr., declined to divulge the value of the stock and cash transaction. Besides Florida, Surterra has operations in Nevada and Texas. The acquisition is sub- ject to approval by Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission and will require certain local go-aheads. NETA employs about 450 people, while Surterra increased its employee count from 100 to 550 in 2018. Compliance Software Raise Denver-based Simplifya , a cannabis compliance software business, raised $3 million in a Series C funding round led by Merida Capital Partners , a private equity fund. The new round of funding will be used for continued growth and expansion, both nationally and internationally. Simplifya closed a $3 million Series B funding round in February 2018, which was used to add human capital and capture market opportunities. The company provides services in at least eight states. Shake It Up Johnson, Arkansas-based Shake Extractions , a female-founded industrial hemp extraction company, received the state’s first license under a new industrial hemp pilot program. Led by Julie Brents, Brittany Phillips and Antigone Davoulas, Shake offers chemical- free processing of hydroponically grown hemp using whole-plant extracts with an emphasis on root-based cannabinoids and terpene research. Shake offers consulting in application assessment, formulation, lab safety, product development and SOPs. Rogue Chocolate Grown Rogue International , a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis brand with headquarters in Medford, Oregon, announced a formal partnership with Jeff Shepherd —an award-winning chocolatier—to create a line of dark chocolate cannabis U.S. DEVELOPMENTS Company News | U.S. & Canada Recent deals, acquisitions and other announcements from North American cannabis companies By Omar Sacirbey