Business mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs agreed to buy marijuana retail and production assets owned by Columbia Care and Cresco Labs for up to $185 million to create what is being called the largest Black-owned cannabis company in the U.S.
After 2021’s record-breaking year for mergers and acquisitions, many marijuana industry insiders predicted that 2022 would be an even more active year.
But so far, that’s not been the case.
Virtually all industries follow a predictable evolutionary path, from introduction to growth to maturity to decline.
As the cannabis industry evolves from growth to maturity, it’s no surprise the market is experiencing one of the most common developments – consolidation.
Columbia Care co-founder and longtime CEO Nicholas Vita likely will emerge with more than $100 million in cash and stock thanks to Cresco Labs’ pending acquisition of the New York-based multistate marijuana operator.
Most of the largest U.S. marijuana multistate operators experienced revenue declines in the first quarter of 2022 versus the previous three months, reflecting seasonal factors, declining cannabis prices and inflationary pressures that could be curbing consumer spending.
Multistate operator Cresco Labs succeeded in its push to get $38 million in tax breaks for a planned cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility in Ulster County, New York.
New Jersey’s projected $2 billion recreational marijuana market launched Thursday to long lines, free food and party music as the state got a jump on rival New York.
New Jersey will launch its projected $2 billion adult-use marijuana market on April 21 amid lingering questions about whether operators can adequately serve the state’s 120,000 medical cannabis patients without disrupting recreational supplies.
More than a half-dozen existing medical marijuana operators in New Jersey – all large multistate operators – soon will be launching the state’s projected billion-dollar adult-use market.
The top cannabis multistate operators in the U.S. posted huge revenue gains in 2021 over the previous year as they expanded in high-growth markets and filled gaps in their geographic footprints through small and large acquisitions.
Cresco Labs is expected to sell off $250 million-$500 million worth of marijuana cultivation and retail licenses largely to meet state license limits as part of its planned $2 billion acquisition of rival Columbia Care.
Major multistate cannabis operators Cresco Labs and Columbia Care said Wednesday they have agreed to combine in a blockbuster deal worth roughly $2 billion, with Chicago-based Cresco set to acquire New York-headquartered Columbia.
