The cannabis business is booming, and the trend continues as another cannabis-centric company in downtown Chicago gets acquired.
The company in question is Chicago-based Verano Holdings, which is being bought for a total amount of $850 million. On the other hand, the company buying it is the Phoenix, Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation, a marijuana company that went live on the Canadian Stock Exchange some few years ago. Similar to Verano, Harvest currently has multiple licenses that let them operate and grow their business within multiple states. And through the deal, Harvest then acquires a much-needed foothold in Illinois.
But, why Illinois? Well, for starters, the state is the sixth-largest in the entire country, and its new governor, J.B. Pritzker, is in favor of using marijuana for recreational purposes. This gives the company a lot of space and leeway to operate, while at the same time gives them access to a wide potential market that they haven't tapped before. The company Harvest is acquiring has a strong position in the market as well. In fact, according to analysts at Cannacord Genuity, Verano is a strong retail brand that has over 150 products sold in over 150 retail locations.
A combined entity
Combined, the two companies will now have about 200 licenses in around 16 states. Presently, Verano has 44 licenses in 11 states and has over 350 employees, including 140 stationed in Illinois. The company's executive offices are presently located in Chicago, and it has a facility that's growing in downstate Albion.
Per statements from both companies, Verano's management team, which includes George Archos, their current CEO, is expected to remain with Harvest. Furthermore, the management team will be running the combined operations of the companies east of the Mississippi, while those that are from Phoenix will take care of the Western U.S. operations.
The state of Chicago has been a major player for some time now in the burgeoning cannabis industry, what with a number of its companies quickly winning licenses all throughout multiple states as the country became more open to both marijuana and its industry.
Like any other state, the industry in Chicago grew fast, attracting many companies that are looking to grow within the space. However, since marijuana technically is still prohibited, most companies had to go public on Canada, where the plant has been considered legal since October of last year.
