A Green Thumb Industries subsidiary is providing $20 million in funding to marijuana cultivation and extraction solutions company Agrify Corp., with $10 million being drawn at closing.
According to a news release, Agrify also is undergoing a management shake-up in which:
- Chair and CEO Raymond Chang resigned and I-Tseng Jenny Chan stepped down from the board.
- Green Thumb Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Kovler was appointed Agrify’s interim CEO and board chair.
- Armon Vakili, Green Thumb’s vice president of strategic initiatives and partnerships, and Richard Drexler, who has more than 40 years in corporate leadership roles, were appointed to the Agrify board.
Chicago-headquartered Green Thumb Industries (GTI) did not immediately respond to an MJBizDaily request for comment on the deal.
Kovler said in a statement that GTI’s investment and change in board directors will help Troy, Michigan-based Agrify reach an untapped potential.
“Given Green Thumb’s thoughtful and prudent approach to capital allocation, we see significant opportunity ahead to assist in the creation of value for shareholders via Agrify’s non-plant-touching assets,” Kovler said.
Before the financing, the unidentified GTI subsidiary acquired an ownership stake in Agrify through the purchase of common stock and warrants from Chang and Chan.
Shares of Agrify trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange as AGFY.
The company had been noncompliant with Nasdaq stock listing rules until it converted $13.8 million of debt to equity in May.
“This is great news for Agrify at a time when the company needed a capital infusion,” Agrify board member Krishnan Varier said of the transaction.
“I am confident that this new investment from Green Thumb and Ben’s leadership will provide Agrify the necessary financing support and operational expertise to help position us for growth and long-term value creation for shareholders.”
Green Thumb trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange as GTII and on the over-the-counter markets as GTBIF.
