It’s been another monumental week in cannabis with massive multimillion-dollar deals, big news out of Florida and the launch of a new cannabis-focused fund.
Here’s a recap of the top newsmakers and deals that caught our eyes here at Investor Intelligence – plus a look at what we’ll be watching for next week:
Cresco Labs goes big in California
Multistate cannabis company Cresco Labs announced its plans to acquire Origin House, a Canadian firm with a massive portfolio of brands and major California presence: 50 brands in more than 500 dispensaries.
The all-stock deal valued at $823 million (1.1 billion Canadian dollars) is an industry record in the United States.
It marks the largest acquisition in the U.S. of a publicly traded cannabis firm, topping iAnthus’ $625 million deal for MPX Bioceutical.
As we noted in our Rapid Response note to subscribers earlier this week: Cresco is hopeful its latest acquisition will attract more institutional investor money to its coffers and allow the company to expand further through additional M&A activity.
In other words, you’ll likely see more of Cresco in headlines like this in the future.
Trulieve wins big in Florida
Leading Florida medical marijuana retailer Trulieve has landed the go-ahead to expand its dispensaries to 49 locations throughout the state.
The Florida Department of Health this week dropped its appeal to a court ruling that deemed the state’s cap on medical cannabis dispensaries unconstitutional.
The move cements Trulieve as the market leader in Florida – where the company estimates it has a more than 60% market share.
Trulieve is expected to release Q4 and full-year earnings later this month – and we’ll be listening for more information on the company’s plans for capitalizing on this news.
Beacon Securities analyst Russell Stanley has forecast Trulieve’s Q4 earnings to ring in at $31 million in revenue and $14 million in EBIDTA.
Merida Capital launches $200 million fund
Merida Capital Partners, a cannabis-focused private equity fund, has launched a $200 million fund – its third fund since 2016.
Merida has deployed nearly $80 million across its first two funds and now has more than $125 million under management.
The fund’s managing partner, Mitch Baruchowitz, noted that Merida has accelerated liquidity within its portfolio of 25 investments through public listings for GrowGeneration, Vireo Health and CB2 Insights as well as leading investments in public companies KushCo Holdings and Freedom Leaf Health.
Look for more details on this cannabis private equity fund and others that have recently launched in your April 15 Investor Intelligence Newsletter.
Next Week:
April 9: Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (CSE: GTII) is slated to report its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Tuesday, April 9, after the market closes. In the third quarter – the first in which the company reported earnings as a newly public firm – GTI recorded a net loss of $3.3 million. Revenue spiked more than 340%, to $17.2 million for the quarter.
With that, enjoy the weekend. As always, feel free to reach out to me directly with questions, comments or feedback at lisabk@mjkizdaily.com.
Sincerely,
Lisa Bernard-Kuhn
Editor, Investor Intelligence
