High Times’ deal to buy cannabis grow, processing facilities falls apart

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High Times Holding Corp.’s move to expand into marijuana operations hit a snag with the collapse of a deal to buy a cultivation and processing business in California.

The parent of the iconic High Times magazine said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its planned acquisition of Humboldt Heritage was terminated by “mutual agreement” on May 15.

No purchase price was announced for the deal, which included Humboldt subsidiaries Humboldt Sun Growers Guild and Grateful Eight.

High Times Executive Chair Adam Levin had touted the Humboldt agreement as one that would add “200+ of the best cannabis-producing farms in the world and the rest of the capabilities we’ll need to grow into the future as a larger High Times family.”

It’s unclear how the termination of the transaction, which would have provided High Times a large marijuana supply chain, will affect the company’s plan to aggressively expand into retail in California.

High Times recently agreed to acquire 13 operating and planned cannabis retail outlets in California from multistate operator Harvest Health & Recreation for $80 million, mostly in stock.

That deal is challenging because the licenses involve a number of jurisdictions and minority partners.

High Times also has been trying since 2018 to complete a Regulation A public stock offering. The offering has been extended frequently, most recently to June 30, according to regulatory documents.

High Times has said publicly that it has raised more than $20 million, but its initial goal was $50 million.

Peter Horvath recently became High Times’ third CEO in a little more than a year.