A Chicago, Illinois-based cannabis consumer goods company is planning to buy a West Haven cannabis facility and enter the Connecticut market.
Green Thumb Industries Inc. will acquire Advanced Grow Labs, a 41,000-square-foot space and one of only four cultivation and processing facilities in Connecticut.
AGL, which produces and distributes a wide range of cannabis products to every operating store in the state, also has a 46 percent ownership of a recently awarded dispensary that will be located in Westport, making it the only vertically licensed company in the state.
The transaction is valued at approximately $80 million, which includes $15 million in cash and 7 million subordinate voting shares of GTI.
“We are thrilled that AGL is joining the GTI team and look forward to continuing to serve Connecticut communities with high-quality cannabis products,” GTI Founder and CEO Ben Kovler said in a statement. “AGL is a highly successful company in a limited license state with a fantastic management team that will continue to run the business. We are full steam ahead executing on GTI’s expansion plans as we look to create shareholder value. This transaction is an example of that given the attractive multiples. In the past two months alone, we announced the acquisition of Nevada-based Integral Associates; were awarded additional retail licenses for 12 stores in Pennsylvania; and entered the New Jersey market with a cultivation, processing and retail license win. We are now solidly positioned in the tri-state area with our entry into Connecticut via AGL. The momentum is strong.”
Upon the close of AGL and the other recently announced acquisition, GTI will have 12 manufacturing facilities and licenses for 85 retail locations across 11 states.
“We could not have picked a better partner than Green Thumb Industries, an industry leader that shares our values, commitment to producing high-quality brands and dedication to giving back to the communities we serve,” AGL Founder and CEO David Lipton said in a statement. “Our business is poised to expand to meet the growing needs of the state’s medical marijuana patients and this partnership with GTI will support that expansion.”
The Connecticut medical marijuana program currently has more than 30,000 patients and over 1,000 registered physicians. The program has 31 qualifying conditions and accepts petitions from the public to consider adding additional conditions for which medical marijuana can be useful. With a population of about 3.6 million, the state has four cultivation and processing sites and 18 dispensaries.
