NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2018 – PRESS RELEASE – Acreage Holdings, Inc. has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the real estate assets of Michigan-based Blue Tire Holdings, LLC to bring cannabis products to Michigan residents throughout the state. Leading development efforts in the state will be a team of Acreage Holdings and Blue Tire experts, including Blue Tire's chief medical officer, Dr. Saqib Nakadar, who was recently appointed to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Advisory Panel. Dr. Nakadar brings unparalleled medical cannabis experience and regulatory access to the venture for the state of Michigan.
Blue Tire spent the past several years acquiring a portfolio of real estate assets which, now through the expertise and financial resources of Acreage, are optimally suited to building a large scale vertical operation in Michigan, one of the highest per capita cannabis-use markets in the United States. Blue Tire and Acreage will work together to acquire licenses to operate in the cannabis business in Michigan with respect to such properties. Acreage will invest significant financial capital in Michigan to build out existing operations and hopes to acquire additional dispensary operations over the next few years.
The venture is already well positioned to start dispensary operations with municipal licenses in key cities throughout the state including Detroit, Bay City, Battle Creek, Lansing and Ann Arbor. Real estate assets have been secured in strategic locations, including a 55,000-square-foot facility in Flint that will serve as a large-scale mixed use indoor facility to cultivate high-end cannabis, provide manufacturing and packaging services, and serve as a flagship retail location. Acreage will also leverage an additional 30-acre property in Vassar with a licensed greenhouse cultivation and processing facility.
Acreage also brings to Michigan a deep team of experts from leading companies in retail, spirits and other highly regulated industries. Acreage's Board of Directors has unparalleled levels of political access and corporate governance with members including former Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney, former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld, former tw telecom (formerly Time Warner Telecom) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larissa Herda, former IBM Chief Financial Officer Douglas Maine and Chair Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc., Bill Van Faasen.
