Staff
Long time cannabis media company High Times has entered into an agreement to acquire Buyers Industry Guide, the publication and production company responsible for the highly successful canna-conference series ‘the BIG Show’ for an undisclosed amount. This B2B tradeshow attracts over 10,000 industry guests annually and is known for its product sales like smoking accessories. It’s held twice a year in Miami and Los Angeles.
“The Big Show has a great reputation throughout the industry, so to bring their brand in-house is really exciting. They’ve developed an impressive roster of attendees, and a loyal audience – we’re looking forward to continuing to add more resources and additional programming in future years” Adam Levin, Chairman and CEO of High Times Holdings said.
The latest acquisition is the latest effort to build upon High Times’ event production business, which includes entertainment festivals like the Cannabis Cup, Reggae On The River and industry events like the High Times Business Expo. The company recently acquired Dope Magazine, which also sponsors events in addition to its magazine publication.
The relationship between the two companies was already quite strong. Buyers Industry Guide better known by its event titled, ‘the BIG Show,’ had previously partnered with High Times for support in programming its event schedule and has previously used High Times sales infrastructure.
“Working with High Times is a dream come true,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, the sole proprietor of Buyers Industry Guide. “I grew up reading their publication, and after meeting Adam and learning about his plans, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect marriage. High Times is rapidly evolving, pivoting away from solely focusing on media, into a true technology and services business. Receiving this kind of approval from these kingmakers reaffirms my belief that we’re on the right path, and doubles down on our belief that these types of events are not only beneficial but necessary for the growth of this industry!”
The transaction is expected to close during Q1 of 2019 and comes during a time that High Times has been offering shares in the company through a Regulation A+ crowdfunding campaign. The date for the closing of the offering has been extended several times. It was last supposed to close on October 31, but that has been pushed to January 31.
High Times also recently converted its debt to the upcoming stock. High Times had been saddled with $25.6 million worth of 12% convertible notes as a result of the acquisition back in February 2017 from Trans-High Corporation (THC). THC has agreed to immediately convert the debt into shares of Common stock at $11 per share. That is the same price that the public crowdfunding investors are paying.
