Marijuana Business Magazine November-December 2019

November-December 2019 | mjbizdaily.com 19 Then, of course, the dispensaries: We want great operators, but we also want footprint. We want to be able to be accessed by consumers all over the state, especially with delivery coming (in the future). Are people looking for cash acquisitions, or are deals typically based on stock options? Everybody is wanting cash and stock. Stock-only deals don’t resonate with people. We all have tax bills, and we have to pay them. Have you had out-of-state investors banging on your door? How do you decide which investors you want to do business with? That was a real chore. Since HB 1090 passed, I have got- ten some calls, but I don’t really entertain them. What we were looking to line up was prior to it passing, and I was heavily involved in it. In January, we went out on a non-deal road show and spent 3½months on the road, looking for that perfect partner. The partner we were looking for brought not just money … but somebody who could add something opera- tional that we didn’t have. At almost the last stop on our road show, I met Dye Capital & Co. and Justin Dye. He’s the guy who took Albertson’s from a less-than $10 billion company to a $60 billion company … and made $40 billion in acquisitions and divestitures and integrated all those companies. He loved our story and said, “Listen, I’m going to come in and help you. I’ve got the Rolodex of people who have been there and done that, with the things that you’re missing.” So it was really a match made in heaven, and Justin is now the chairman of our board, and he’s extremely valuable because of the mentoring that he brings to us and the Rolodex that he has. He brought $21 million in capital for this initial round, which includes building out infrastructure and money for some of these acquisitions. He’ll also be anchoring our next money raise, which we’ll be doing here prior to these deals closing. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. John Schroyer is senior reporter for Marijuana Business Magazine. You can reach him at johns@mjbizdaily.com. Fast todry. First tomarket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bepex.com Maximize production and maintain product quality Continuously dry your freshly harvested cannabis and hemp in seconds to minutes. Or, dry and decarboxylate in a single step. Prevent decomposition and maximize product quality. Our proven technologies in drying solids help you get the job done quickly and efficiently. Find out how you can be first to market. 612-268-0320 Download our brochure: “Process Systems for Cannabis and Hemp” bepex.com/FAST DRYING DECARBOXYLATION SOLVENT RECOVERY MILLING