Staff
It’s time for your Daily Hit of cannabis financial news for March 24, 2020.
On The Site
Curaleaf
Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) said it will acquire three Arrow Alternative Care (AAC) dispensaries in the state of Connecticut. AAC operates three out of 18 total stores currently operational in the state. Its first store opened in Hartford in 2014, the second in Milford in 2017, and the Stamford store opened its doors in January 2020.
Curaleaf is already one of four licensed growers in Connecticut and currently operates a 60,000 square foot cultivation facility in Simsbury that provides high-quality cannabis products to over 40,000 patients throughout the state. The acquisition will now allow Curaleaf to be vertically integrated, providing products to the patients directly as well as through existing wholesale channels.
DEA
Late last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice announced action to further expand opportunities for scientific and medical research on marijuana in the United States.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was filed for public inspection on March 20. The proposed rule was then published in the Federal Register on Monday, March 23. The new approach will expand opportunities for marijuana growers who seek to grow marijuana for research purposes and outline the agency’s proposed process for administering the new program, consistent with applicable law.
Leafly
Private cannabis company Leafly laid off 91 employees this week amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Leafly editor Ben Adlin announced on Twitter that he had heard Leafly had made the layoffs which were later confirmed by the company. Adlin also noted the company still owed him $6,700. Adlin’s employment was prior to the pandemic layoffs. The company said it would provide one week of severance pay for the laid-off employees and two months of health insurance
In Other News
Charlotte’s Web
Charlotte’s Web announced a definitive agreement to acquire Abacus, where the combined entity is anticipated to represent nearly 35% of U.S. CBD sales withing the Food/Drug/Mass Retail channel. Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, shareholders of Abacus will receive 0.85 of a common share of Charlotte’s Web for each Abacus Share held. The Exchange Ratio implies a price per Abacus Share of C$4.39, representing a premium of 38% based on the 10-day volume-weighted average price of the Abacus Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange and the 10-day VWAP of the Charlotte’s Web Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of March 20, 2020, for implied total equity consideration of approximately C$99 million.
Elixinol
Elixinol, a global hemp-derived CBD brand, announced it has named Tom Siciliano as the organization’s new CEO Americas effective immediately. Siciliano is charged with leading Elixinol’s refined strategy on hemp-derived CBD in the Americas region.
Siciliano has an extensive background in the cannabis industry. In his most recent role, Siciliano was president of Nutritional High International Inc. a vertically integrated cannabis manufacturing and distribution company with operations in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and California. Prior to Nutritional High, Siciliano served as President and Chief Financial Officer for Canna Security America where he turned the company into the second-largest security company within the cannabis industry.
