Multistate cannabis firm Cresco Labs launches trading on CSE

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Cresco Labs, Multistate cannabis firm Cresco Labs launches trading on CSE

Chicago-based Cresco Labs began trading Monday on the Canadian Securities Exchange, adding its name to the rapidly growing list of U.S.-based firms that are going public in Canada.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Cresco Labs will trade on the CSE under the ticker symbol CL.
  • Shares of the multistate marijuana company opened at 8 Canadian dollars ($6.06).
  • Launched three years ago in Illinois, Cresco also has operations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
  • The firm’s listing on the CSE follows a $100 million funding round in October that attracted institutional investors, a notable milestone for cannabis finance in the United States.

Cresco plans to use the capital to grow its footprint in the six states in which it already operates and target new states to expand to, the firm has said.

Among the growing number of U.S. cannabis firms that have recently tapped Canadian public markets are  New York-based Acreage Holdings, Colorado’s MJardin and Dixie Brands and Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation.

Those firms are among nearly 50 U.S. cannabis operators that have listed their shares on the CSE this year, according to data from the exchange.

The majority of those have come about through reverse takeovers (RTOs), a maneuver in which a company acquires a publicly traded shell company to obtain a listing, rather than pursue a traditional initial public offering.