WHAT’S COOLER THAN $1 BILLION?
Cresco Labs is acquiring Columbia Care in $2 billion all-stock deal
Chicago-based Cresco Labs is acquiring rival Columbia Care, based in New York, for $2 billion in an all-stock deal, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
The deal could make Cresco America’s largest MSO, combining Cresco’s existing presence in 10 states to another eight, where Columbia operates. The acquisition will also mean the company will operate more than 100 dispensaries.
“This acquisition brings together two of the leading operators in the industry, pairing a leading footprint with proven operational, brand and competitive excellence,” said Cresco CEO Charles Bachtell in a statement. “The combination is highly complementary and provides unmatched scale, depth, diversification and long-term growth.”
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GETTING SOME GREYBEARD
Aurora scoops up TerraPharma, known for its Thrive brand
The strategy hasn’t worked out super well for Canopy Growth or Hexo thus far, but perhaps Aurora’s luck will be different in its premium cannabis-focused acquisition of TerraPharma, the parent company of Thrive, which operates the Greybeard brand.
The deal is worth CAD $38 million.
“Brands are moving too fast. The consumers are moving too fast,” Aurora CEO Miguel Martin told CTV News. “The only thing that’s really consistent right now is really good people and Thrive has that in spades.”
FIRST TO MARKET
Cannabis is booming on reservations in New York state
Sovereign indigenous nations located within New York state borders are opening cannabis stores ahead of the shops that will be regulated by the state, reports Politico.
The details
- The Seneca reservation is the closest place to buy legal cannabis from Western New York
- The Cayuga Nation has plans to open a 15,000-square-foot cultivation facility
- The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe launched the first retail cannabis sales
- Questions remain about how New York’s regulated cannabis industry can integrate, like whether Native Americans can apply for social equity licenses or if products made on reservations can be sold in New York stores (and vice versa)
- Like gasoline and cigarettes, cannabis is not taxed on reservations
“You can see how far people will drive to save $5 on a tank of gas on native territory, how far will people drive to save $50 on a bag of weed?” said Sen. George Borrello (R-Chautauqua), whose district includes Seneca territory. “That’s really going to hurt the legal market.”
ACCESS TO OILS
UK extends post-Brexit measures for access to Dutch cannabis oils
After Brexit threatened access to Bedrocan cannabis oils from the Netherlands needed by approximately 40 children with epilepsy, the UK’s Department of Health & Social Care announced they’ve extended emergency measures that will maintain the supply to July 1, 2022, reports BusinessCann.
The extension will ‘allow domestic production to be established and approved’ in the UK, but so far, it’s taking longer than anticipated.
