Green Thumb Industries buys Nevada cannabis business in $290 million deal

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Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a multistate marijuana company, has agreed to purchase a Nevada-based, vertically integrated cannabis company in a stock and cash deal valued at about $290 million.

The deal expands Chicago-based GTI’s footprint in Nevada, home to one of the fastest-growing, adult-use MJ markets in the nation.

The acquisition includes:
  • Three retail stores in the Las Vegas Valley that operate under the name Essence Cannabis Dispensary, including one on the Las Vegas Strip.
  • Desert Grown Farms, a 54,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility.
  • Cannabiotix NV, a 41,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility.

Integral Associates founder and CEO Armen Yemenidjian also will join GTI’s leadership team.

GTI (CSE: GTII) entered Nevada in 2016 and currently operates two recreational cannabis stores – Rise Spanish Springs and Rise Carson City – along with a Carson City cultivation and processing facility.

According to a news release, the deal is valued at roughly $290 million, with $52 million to be paid in cash and approximately 20.8 million subordinate voting shares of GTI.

The deal also includes additional consideration upon achieving performance targets and regulatory license awards. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

GTI has eight manufacturing facilities and licenses for 60 retail locations across eight U.S. markets.