NORWOOD,
Mass., Jan. 18, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – MariMedInc., a leading multistate cannabis operator focused on improving lives
every day, announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Green Growth
Group Inc., holder of a provisional cannabis craft license in Illinois. The
transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory
approvals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This
transaction will enable MariMed to add cultivation, manufacturing and
distribution to its existing retail cannabis operations in the state. MariMed
will bring its full product portfolio of award-winning and top-selling brands,
genetics and products to one of the top cannabis markets in the United States.
“This
acquisition allows MariMed to be a vertically integrated cannabis operator in
Illinois, where we already operate four high-performing Thrive-branded
dispensaries,” MariMed CEO Bob Fireman said. “It is an important part of our
strategic growth plan to increase our revenue and profits by expanding in the
high-growth states in which we currently operate. Illinois regulations provide
for our company to own up to 10 dispensaries and three craft licenses.”
“Being
vertical in Illinois will improve our gross margins at our retail stores and
provide the company wholesale revenue from the sale of our branded products to
other dispensaries,” added Jon Levine, chief financial officer of MariMed. “The
completion of this transaction, in addition to the recently announced
acquisition of a Maryland cannabis business, are both important steps in the
execution of MariMed’s strategic growth plan.”
For
this craft license, the company will acquire a building to develop up to 14,000
square feet of canopy for cultivation, build an extraction lab to produce
concentrates, and build a production kitchen for the manufacture of edibles and
other derivative products. A transportation license also being acquired will
enable the company to wholesale its products throughout Illinois.
The
company intends to manufacture and distribute in Illinois its proprietary
brands and products, including its Betty’s Eddies fruit chews, which
was one of the top-selling edibles in the state until 2019 through a third-party
licensing agreement, its award-winning Nature’s Heritage flower and
concentrates, its Bubby’s Baked soft and chewy baked edibles, and
more.
According
to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Illinois
reported $1.8 billion in total legal cannabis sales in 2021, which was up more
than 100% versus 2020, when adult-use cannabis was first legalized in the
state. With a population of nearly 13 million, approximately 110 operational
dispensaries, and $1.8 billion in legal cannabis sales, Illinois is one of the
largest, fastest-growing cannabis markets in the U.S.
