John Schroyer
Toronto-based TerrAscend Corp. (CSE: TER) (OTCQX: TRSSF) announced Thursday that it will acquire a Maryland medical marijuana dispensary for $22.1 million in a mostly stock deal, less than a month before adult-use cannabis sales are set to launch in the state on July 1.
The acquisition – TerrAscend’s second retail shop in Maryland – primes the business to take first-mover advantage of recreational sales, and the business intends to move as quickly as it can to set up the state maximum of four dispensaries, Executive Chairman Jason Wild said in a press release.
“Adding a second, high-performing medical dispensary in Maryland is an important step in our strategy to become a market leader in the state,” Wild said. “With less than 30 days until the launch of adult use in Maryland, we are focused on additional acquisitions and reaching the four-dispensary cap as our northeast business unit will soon be operating in Maryland under the same successful business model we built in (New Jersey).”
The acquisition brings TerrAscend’s total retail footprint nationally to 35 dispensaries spread across California, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The new acquisition deal will bring Derby I LLC, dba Peninsula Alternative Health, into the TerrAscend portfolio for $1.5 million in cash and another $20.6 million in stock, a seller’s note, and existing debt, according to a press release.
Peninsula has a net revenue run rate of $14 million for 2023 and “no direct competitor” within a 25-mile radius, the release stated, which is why the location is so attractive to TerrAscend.
