Trulieve, the nation’s largest vertically integrated cannabis distributor has announced they have acquired Harvest in a deal that will create nationwide domination for Trulieve.
Trulieve has acquired Harvest, creating a nationwide cannabis empire. The acquisition will expand Trulieve’s reach to include Florida and Nevada. Read more in detail here: tcnnf stock.
Harvest Health & Recreation was acquired for $2.1 billion by Florida cannabis giant Trulieve Cannabis Corp., resulting in the United States’ biggest marijuana corporation, with 149 outlets and activities in 11 states.
Harvest, which has 39 locations across five states, including one in Tucson at 2734 E. Grant Road, was the first to sell adult-use marijuana in Arizona when the Arizona Department of Health Services approved legal sales on Jan. 22.
Harvest co-founder and CEO Steve White stated to the Weedly in a recent email, “We are eager to go ahead as part of Trulieve.” “The merged company has the resources and skill to continue increasing cannabis availability and providing exceptional customer service.”
After a roller coaster of public relations headaches that never really threatened the deal, but were troubling enough for Trulieve to mention in a January filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, the deal was announced on May 10 and completed on Oct. 1, several weeks after the Harvest board voted to move forward.
Trulieve’s issues began in 2015, when the United States Grand Jury for the North District of Florida opened an investigation into T.J. Burnette, Kim Rivers’ husband, in connection with suspected wrongdoing by “local politicians” in Tallahassee, Florida.
Burnette’s actions, including her engagement with Tallahassee’s Community Redevelopment Agency and “political donations [she] made via a connected firm,” were investigated by Rivers in 2017.
According to the SEC filing, Rivers was not the subject of the inquiry or charged with any crimes, but Burnette was convicted on five of nine federal corruption-related counts in a highly publicized Florida trial in August 2021, according to a story in the Tallahassee Democrat.
In addition to the Florida issues, Harvest was the target of a number of investor lawsuits, all of which were dismissed prior to the board’s decision to proceed with the acquisition.
In a Weedly interview on Sept. 23, White stated, “Anytime there’s a large public transaction, there are some plaintiffs’ law firms who, practically as a matter of course, bring cases.” “Because of our open judicial system, it’s a quite normal, very routine thing that occurs… almost like a fee that you pay, so [it’s] not a huge issue.”
If and when federal legalization occurs, the purchase positions Trulieve to become a national force to be reckoned with. Trulieve and Harvest have “cash equivalents” of $289 million and $71 million, respectively, according to the press release announcing the deal, as well as Trulieve’s recent $350 million in debt financing and Harvest’s $55 million from the sale of its Florida license, which was a condition of the deal.
White, a Tempe native, has a lot of political power in both Arizona and Florida because to cannabis. He contributed $1.8 million to assist Prop 207 succeed in the run-up to last year’s election, which legalized adult-use marijuana.
White will remain a participant in the marijuana industry and a proponent of broader marijuana legalization.
“I’ll be remaining on at Trulieve as part of the executive team, helping to expand up the company,” he stated.
Related Tag
- hrvsf stock
