AN ambitious London-headquartered private-equity acquisition vehicle has debuted with the purchase of a US CBD firm – as it sets out its global ‘buy-and-build’ ambitions.
Tenacious Labs says the acquisition of Denver-based CBD brand Press Pause in a cash-and-shares deal sets it on the way to becoming a leading global consumer cannabinoid brand.
Further acquisitions will be announced in the ‘coming days’, says Tenacious and these will be supported by the impending launch of two UK CBD brands; Walker & Morland, and Hoo Raa.
Tenacious is headquartered in London with offices in Miami and Colorado and led by CEO Nicholas Morland and CCO Adrian Clarke.
‘World-Leading Business‘
The duo also head-up Delarki, a search fund aimed at early-stage and discretionary-spend businesses, targeting Gen Y millennials and the Gen Z student population.
Mr Clarke said: “This is a really important step in our strategy to become one of the world’s leading cannabinoid businesses operating an unrivalled portfolio of international brands.
“As consumer attitudes to cannabinoids change, we see enormous potential for value creation within the industry.”
Co-founded in 2018 by Dawn Fable, Press Pause creates premium CBD products for women’s wellbeing, including CBD balms, bath bombs, tinctures and full-spectrum CBD capsules.
‘Major Milestone’
Ms Fable, who has joined Tenacious Labs as Head of Pause Lifestyle Brands, said: “We’ve been really encouraged by the levels of consumer interest and feedback that we’ve received to date for our female-focused products.
“I’m now looking forward to working with Tenacious Labs to take the Press Pause brand to the next level as part of its international growth strategy.”
Mr Morland said: “I am delighted to welcome Press Pause to the Tenacious Labs group and look forward to working with Dawn and her team.
“Our first acquisition; this is a major milestone in our strategy of building and developing a global portfolio of consumer cannabinoid brands. It brings an established US brand to the UK as the market enters its next phase of growth and consolidation.
“We have a pipeline of acquisition opportunities ahead of us, and expect to announce further developments in the near future.”
Mr Morland is a qualified chartered accountant with significant experience in private equity, and Mr Clarke has extensive understanding of the international spirits and premium discretionary spend arena.
The global CBD market is growing rapidly and set to be worth several billion pounds over the coming years.
Analysts believe that, with thousands of CBD brands currently in the market there is room for consolidation vehicles with UK firm South West Brands recently mapping out its plans for the market segment.
