Following recent acquisitions in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Ohio, Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA; OTCQX: CURLF) is poised to become one of the largest U.S. multi-state cannabis operators with a new buyout deal announced this morning.
Today, the company revealed an agreement has been struck to snap up the privately-owned GR Companies, Inc. (more commonly known as Grassroots).
The $875 million cash and stock deal will see Curaleaf gaining an immediate foothold in Illinois, which just became the 11th U.S. state to legalize recreational cannabis last month.
Aside from Illinois locations with licenses in hand, picking up Grassroots also means Curaleaf will now establish a foothold in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Vermont.
If completed, the deal will see Grassroots Chief Executive Officer Mitch Kahn joining the Curaleaf Board of Directors, while Grassroots co-founders Matt Darin and Steve Weisman will move into senior management roles with the new parent company.
Due to close in 2020 following expected regulatory and shareholder approval, the acquisition will expand Curaleaf’s current operations to a total of 19 U.S. states. Those combined operations with the added Grassroots assets will include nearly 70 operational dispensaries, licenses for more than 130 locations, and 20 different cultivation sites across the nation.
The company hosted a conference call to discuss the acquisition plan with shareholders this morning, with a webcast and phone-based replay information available over here.
Discussing the terms of the agreement, Curaleaf’s Chief Executive Officer Joseph Lusardi commented:
That referenced deal to acquire Select’s THC-focused cannabis products was announced back in May at a stunning price of just under $1 billion.
On the growing CBD side of the industry, Curaleaf is currently focused on in-house operations with the Curaleaf Hemp spin-off. On that front, Curaleaf Hemp just appointed former PepsiCo Frito – Lay Division executive Dave Johnson as the new company President to oversee the expansion of CBD retail operations.
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