New Private Equity Fund Seeking $100M

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A private equity fund launched by two High Times executives is looking to raise $100 million for investments in cannabis companies.

The HT Growth Fund plans to make individual investments of around $2 million on average, primarily in ancillary companies that don’t actually handle marijuana.

The fund will seek out established businesses that reached their growth limits without access to traditional capital markets, rather than true startups that need early-stage financing, according to the Denver Post. The average exit time will be five years.

The fund is run by Michael Kennedy and Michael Safir, who both have deep ties with High Times Magazine.

Kennedy runs a law firm in New York City and has served as general counsel and director for High Times since the 1970s. He’s also a major investor in the company that owns the magazine. Safir served as business manager of High Times since 2010 and helped plan the magazine’s Cannabis Cup events.

The two hope to raise $100 million in two years, which would make HT Growth the industry’s largest funding source (at least as of now).

Raising that much money could be difficult, given that many investors are still hesitant to pump money into the cannabis industry.

However, the climate is improving by the day, and several other cannabis-focused investment funds and groups have formed recently as a result. Additionally, recent indications that the federal government will take a hands-off approach to the marijuana businesses could help loosen investors’ pocketbooks.