Marijuana Business Magazine April 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2020 22 By Omar Sacirbey Arizona MSO Acquires In-state Rival Arizona’s largest medical cannabis company, Harvest Health & Recreation , acquired competitor Arizona Natural Selections . Under terms of the deal, Harvest received: • Vertical licenses for three operating MMJ dispensaries and a fourth location to be opened. • A 55,000-square-foot grow facility. • A 322-acre site containing a 70,000-square-foot greenhouse and 25 acres that are zoned for marijuana cultivation. Phoenix-based Harvest didn’t disclose the purchase price, saying only that it acquired Arizona Natural Selec- tions’ licenses for a “nonmaterial” amount of stock.With the acquisitions, Harvest operates 14 of the roughly 120 medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. Curaleaf Breaks Into Colorado Multistate marijuana operator Curaleaf Holdings announced it will buy BlueKudu , a Denver-based producer of cannabis chocolates and gummies. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition gives Massachusetts-based Curaleaf a foothold in one of the biggest marijuana markets in the country. When the deal is closed, Curaleaf will operate an 8,400-square-foot infusion kitchen and processing facility in Denver. BlueKudu was founded in 2011; five years later, it announced a $2.5 million expansion. PR and MJ Advocacy Groups Partner Rasky Partners , a public affairs firm headquartered in Boston, announced its formal affiliation with The Cannabis Certification Council , a nonprofit group. The partnership, formalized in early 2020, will help Rasky expand beyond its New England base while also providing Denver-based CCC with services that include brand positioning, media relations and strategic communications. “The partnership between Rasky and the Council will be a great asset to our cannabis and our codes and regulatory clients,” said Doug Bailey, senior vice president and co-leader of Rasky’s cannabis practice. Vape Powers Partnership Tilt Holdings , a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based cannabis technology platform comprised of assets to support brands worldwide, announced its subsidiary Jupiter Research partnered with The Blinc Group , a vaping-solutions company. The partners will offer custom vaporization devices and collaborate on industry innovations as well as cannabis vaping regulatory and compliance issues. Blinc founder and CEO Arnaud Dumas de Rauly is chair of the International ISO committee on Vaping Standards, chair of the European CEN Committee on Vapor Products, former president of FIVAPE in the EU and an expert in inhalation technology, regulations, manufacturing and distribution. Chicago VC and MJ Firms Ink Leaseback Deal NewLake Capital Partners bought and leased back 10 marijuana retail stores in six states from Chicago- based Grassroots Cannabis in a deal valued at up to $19.7 million. NewLake, which also is headquartered in Chicago, has closed on six of the sale-leaseback deals with Grassroots’ parent company, GR Cos. The company plans to purchase the other four stores within the next 45 days. NewLake is paying $15.5 million for the stores. Grassroots, however, is expected to make $4.2 million in improvements to the properties, bringing the deal’s total to $19.7 million. The portfolio consists of nine medical marijuana dispensaries and one adult-use cannabis store. NewLake declined to identify the states where the stores are located. Chicago IP Law Firm Launches MJ Practice Chicago-based intellectual property law firm McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff launched a cannabis practice group. The new cannabis group will be chaired by partners Nicole Grimm and George Lyons III and offer intellectual property support and counseling for cannabis clients ranging from startups to established companies. The law firm has offices in California, Illinois and North Carolina. NBA Legend Partners With Colorado CBD Firm Isiah International , a holding company chaired and led by CEO and NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, partnered with Vesl Oils , a Colorado-based cannabis company licensed to extract CBD oils and manufacture CBD products. Vesl was founded by Bobby Scott and Quorum Lopez in April 2018. Vesl expanded from a limited number of CBD U.S. DEVELOPMENTS CompanyNews | U.S., Canada & International Recent deals, acquisitions and other announcements from cannabis companies