Cannabis Industry Funding

 

The cannabis industry (yes, it is an industry now, not just your backyard plant, grown for personal consumption and sharing among friends), is one of the newest, most exciting areas for financial investment. Growing numbers of venture capitalists, mutual funds, private investors and traditional competitors, like alcohol and tobacco companies, are starting to fund cannabis companies of all sizes and research into the plant. What initially started with funding from, mainly, high net worth individuals and families has now started attracting the attention of institutional investors.

There are the global emerging giant companies like Tilray, Aurora and Canopy and there are medium and small companies of all sizes, including startups. Companies are involved in all parts of the cannabis cycle from growth to processing to distribution to testing to retail while there are many related industries involved with wellness, accessories, food, beverages, media, tourism, technology, research, construction, textiles, fibers, animal feed, etc. Many cannabis businesses have been clocking double digit growth in the past few years. Though a large number of companies are yet to register profits, as they are in the initial growth phase with money going into infrastructure and scaling up, the industry is looking promising enough to start to attract various global funding sources. With more funds pouring in, and expanding markets due to increasing world wide legalization, companies are looking to scale up operations and move to the international stage. Many of these funding sources are looking to diversify investment from the traditional industries to what is looking like a green, sustainable and, definitely, long term industry with significant economic value.

 

During the global Covid pandemic of 2020, the cannabis industry was one of the shining lights in the US states that have legalized it for recreational and/or medical use. Every state with legalized cannabis, saw cannabis sales records tumbling month after month. The cannabis industry generated the most jobs in 2020, According to Leafly, the industry "added 77,300 jobs in just the last year[2020], representing a record 32 percent increase in year-over-year growth and creating jobs at a faster rate than any other American industry." It currently employs 321,000 full time individuals in the US, that too with federal prohibition on cannabis still in place and only 23 states having legalized cannabis for recreational use at the time of writing. Many states were able to tide over the pandemic crisis through cannabis taxes that added precious money to the state treasury. Cannabis was declared an essential service in nearly all US states with legalized recreational cannabis. The performance of cannabis as a business was so successful that six more US states, including New Jersey and New York, legalized cannabis in medical and/or recreational form in December 2020 to add to the increasing numbers of states. March 2021 was a significant month when  New York state, housing the financial capital of the world, finally legalized recreational cannabis. The US legalized low THC cannabis through the Farm Bill 2018 to give its farmers a much needed boost with an additional crop and to become sustainable in its needs for cannabis for non-recreational purposes. This set the stage for global competition with China, the world's largest producer and France, Europe's largest producer.

Cannabis as an industry is poised for high growth. It is not just medical cannabis or recreational cannabis but industrial cannabis as well. This means that we are talking about a cannabis wave hitting not just the retail of traditional cannabis products for recreational use like flower, concentrates and edibles, but also health, pharmaceuticals, wellness, cosmetics, food and beverages, fiber, textiles, paper and pulp, biodegradable polymers and plastics, construction, technology, agriculture, hospitality, tourism, medical education, bio-fuels, research, retail, technology, and many more business sectors. In fact the versatile nature of the cannabis plant means that there are few industries that it cannot impact. 

What is most significant about the cannabis revival is that it is a truly sustainable commodity. Cannabis, as an agricultural crop, uses far less water and resources than cotton, rice or wheat and can grow in a wide range of climates and geographies. Cannabis is an excellent bio-accumulator, enriching the soil where it is grown. It requires no chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Every part of the plant can be used for various purposes. Even its bio-waste can be used for animal feed and fertilizer. The cannabis field is a very effective carbon sequestering mechanism, comparable to the efficiency of forests. 

 

At a time when the world faces runaway climate change and unprecedented environmental degradation brought about by petrochemicals, fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, synthetic pharmaceuticals, chemical based cosmetic and wellness industries, the unsustainable agriculture of cotton, rice, wheat and corn, unsustainable construction methods, etc., what is shocking to see is that the whole focus of industry funding bodies is on only one thing, the creation of wealth in the shortest possible time. It is starkly clear that our current industries are no longer viable, rather, they are outright harmful and every moment that they continue at this scale, let alone grow further, increases the danger of increasingly catastrophic disaster to the planet and all life on it. Each one of these industries continue in a mode of self denial, having grown to humongous proportions and earning vast wealth for their owners. Not only do these industries strive to grow even more, they actively and aggressively do all it takes to keep cannabis prohibited, creating all kinds of hurdles for cannabis related businesses by working in conjunction with lawmakers, regulators and policy makers. They strive to uphold the false image that all is well.

 

Nearly all industry funding goes to these very same unsustainable industries. As unscrupulous as the modern industrialist is, viewing the planet as a means of getting rich, he has an able ally in the insatiable investment funder who shares the same goal. Not only does the investor fund unsustainable industries, he actually pressurizes the industrialist to deliver more returns for the money invested. To top it all, the greedy investor uses arguments such as cannabis is an evil harmful drug that investors must steer clear of, while pumping money into all the unsustainable industries that destroy the earth. Even though the cannabis industry is clocking annual growth at rates like 34%, these traditional investors cannot think beyond the destructive industries that they fund. These destructive unsustainable industries then use the funding to lobby governments and support political candidates favorable to them to ensure that cannabis stays prohibited. All these clowns - investors, businesses and politicians - meet annually at COPs to offer lip service to battling climate change and moving towards environmental sustainability. Appallingly, every government sets targets of dates much into the future for achieving the goals of controlling climate change and announces measures to achieve the same, on one hand, while, on the other, does all it can, in terms of subsidies and tax rebates, to support the growth of very same unsustainable industries. Industry funders, too, pay lip service to combating climate change and to protecting the environment, on the one hand, while, on the other hand, investing all their funds in the very same industries that are responsible for this. These target dates are dates by which the planet is most  likely to be rendered into a wasteland with hardly any living being surviving given the current course of human economic development.

When one measures returns on investment, one only sees the cash flowing into the bank as profits from these unsustainable industries. What is never revealed is the true costs of unsustainable industry - the pollution of air and water, death of animals and birds, loss of forests and habitats, deaths of humans, the borrowing from the future lives of our children to meet the excesses of our present lifestyle. If these costs to the earth were taken into consideration when calculating true value of returns on investment, we would find that the losses are immeasurable and far outweigh the short term gains we have made as money. 

 

The cannabis industries and businesses that are based on the plant offer a way out for all. These industries can reduce the harms caused by the current industries. Cannabis based industrial development can completely replace many unsustainable industries and can create innovative new industries, more aligned with the context and needs of the planet today. What is required is that industry funding be reduced and redirected from unsustainable industries to the cannabis based industries. I am not talking about a symbolic investment of a small percentage of the funding capital available, but of a significant chunk of it. Funding must also be directed to cannabis supportive policy-making institutions. This is not a donation to be made for a noble cause. It is true value for money and the returns on investing in cannabis will far outweigh the returns of the unsustainable industries, with none of the terrible costs to the planet, especially considering that the real capital here is the planet and all life on it.

It is true that the illegal status of cannabis prevents many industry funders from investing in it. But one should remember that the illegal status is kept alive and strengthened by the unsustainable industries and governments only because they have the funds to do so, and the funds are being provided by the investors. If investors stopped investing in the unsustainable industries, and directed their funding towards the lifting of cannabis prohibition globally and on cannabis based industry, profound change would happen very quickly, because it is the funding that is fueling the direction that action takes. Industry funding must not be only directed at the global cannabis companies, but must also reach the small businesses, the small farmers, startups, innovators, researchers, those victimized by cannabis   prohibition, etc.

 

Uruguay, Malta, Luxembourg and Canada have legalized recreational cannabis use. The US and Mexico are on the verge of legalization.  France, South Africa, New Zealand, Israel, Morocco, Thailand, Germany and many other nations are starting to look at legalization seriously. Any nation legalizing cannabis will produce a domino effect among its immediate neighbors, and US federal legalization is likely to have the biggest effect. As a result of path breaking reforms by countries like Uruguay, in December 2020 the UN voted to remove cannabis from its most restricted Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It does however still remain in Schedule I, which is the least restrictive. This one move, of taking cannabis out of all scheduled lists, by the UN itself should be sufficient to bring about the recreational legalization of cannabis in every nation and an overhaul of national drug laws. But then, the UN is funded by the countries that are opposed to cannabis legalization - the US, UK, China, Russia, France, India, Saudi Arabia, etc. These countries are in turn funded by the industries opposed to cannabis legalization. The industries opposed to cannabis legalization are in turn funded by the investors looking for a quick buck with no concern for the planet or the suffering billions who form the poor majority. So, that is the way the money flows today.

 

Cannabis is one of mankind's oldest industries, and could potentially have been one of the biggest today, if not for the period of darkness of the last 150 years when the plant was made illegal and prohibited worldwide. That is starting to change now and as the plant emerges once again from the stigma of prohibition, organizations and individuals holding the funding resources are sensing a potential windfall to be made. Already some of the biggest deals have happened in the last few years. This is believed by many industry experts to be just the beginning. Let us hope so.

Related articles

The following set of articles related to the subject are taken from various media. Words in italics are the thoughts of yours truly at the time of reading the article. 

 

 

'During the first five months of 2021, 132 funding events for cannabis companies were raised, averaging $15 million each. The intensity of financing has accelerated throughout this year, however. In the last five months, cannabis companies grew, on average, $28 million over 73 funding events, an increase of 86%. This includes pre-seed investments through Series D, along with post-IPO equity fundraising and equity crowdfunding.

Compared to 2020 levels, the average investment size is up 165%, from an average of $7.5 million in 2020 to $19.9 million in 2021. The number of funding events is up dramatically, too, with 205 funding rounds reported so far in the first 10 months of 2021. There were only 176 in all of 2020.'

https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/14/cannabis-investment-jumps-82-the-second-half-of-2021-165-over-2020-levels/

 

'Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center has been awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to define economic opportunities for hemp in the western United States.

The five-year project is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems grant program. Oregon State scientists are partnering with eight institutions across the nation on this research, which addresses the needs of Native American and other rural community businesses and farmers in a four-state Western Pacific region.'

https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-receives-10-million-grant-study-hemp-market-western-us

'Selected Provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill The 2018 farm bill enacted a number of provisions regarding crop insurance products and programs available to hemp producers. These provisions allow hemp to be included as an insurable crop under the FCIP [Federal Crop Insurance Program] and provide additional flexibilities for developing new hemp coverage (e.g., §§11101, 11119, parts of 11113). Other provisions specifically address the treatment of hemp production within the program. For example, Section 11106 exempts hemp (along with tobacco, potatoes, and sweet potatoes) from general requirements that the insurance period “not extend beyond the period during which the insured commodity is in the field.” This allows hemp to be insured by the FCIP during the time when it is not growing in the field (such as when dried, cured , or stored). Section 11113 permits the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to waive “the viability and marketability” requirements for developing a hemp policy or program. Typically, the FCIC must evaluate the feasibility of an insurance product prior to approving it for use in the FCIP, including an assessment of the demand from agricultural producers for the insurance product at the expected cost.'

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11919

'Wealth management firm Merrill Lynch is relaxing its approach to taking on new clients with at least some marijuana-related business assets.

“Merrill executives unveiled plans for ‘streamlining’ and adding more ‘flexibility’ to the process of onboarding clients who own or invest in marijuana-related businesses,” AdvisorHub reported, citing an internal message from company executives to financial advisers.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/merrill-lynch-to-accept-more-clients-with-marijuana-related-wealth/


'The first half of 2021 saw a record $7.9 billion in cannabis deal flow as investors — driven by the surging expansion of new legal markets — plowed new money into companies across the industry.

Virtually every sector of the industry saw blockbuster investments as companies raced to enter new markets, expanded operational capacity, and acquired novel intellectual property.

The nearly $8 billion raised in the first half of 2021 was more than three times the $2.5 billion raised over the same period in 2020, and a little more than the $7.7 billion raised in the first half of 2019. More than two-thirds (69%) of the deals were equity-based, but the share of debt financing in the market has risen considerably, doubling from 16% in 2017 to 31% this year.

The average deal size has also increased dramatically since 2017. The average equity deal is now three times larger ($7.4 million vs. $24.2 million) while the average debt deal value has risen tenfold ($4.9 million vs. $47.1 million).'

https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/flush-with-cash-cannabis-companies-jockey-for-prime-market-positions-amid-rush-to-scale/


'The industry has made significant gains recently in forging relationships and developing products in everything from animal and human feed (vegan, plant based meals), constructions materials, holistic medicines and manufacturing components.

One enterprising business based out of Wilmington, North Carolina has even started making prosthetic limbs out of hemp to help supply wounded veterans.

And it is this diverse range of products that hemp can create that is giving hope to investors and farmers alike that the hemp market is only going to grow.

Indeed some experts are predicting that by 2030 the licenced domestic hemp acreage will be in the region of 9 million acres, and a recent report by Facts & Factors suggests the global industrial hemp market is expected to grow to over $36 billion USD by 2026, that’s a compound annual growth rate of around 34%.'

https://www.finsmes.com/2021/06/why-investing-in-hemp-is-still-the-smart-choice.html


'Eaze’s Senior Director of Social Impact, Jennifer Lujan, reiterated why Momentum will continue to be an impactful program in the future.

“BIPOC-owned businesses are often shut out from the limited capital available to cannabis businesses, so we designed Momentum to get talented entrepreneurs in front of investors who understand the power of these brands. Consumers care about supporting social equity, so the smart money is on these companies.”

And while the 2021 Momentum class may just be wrapping up their coursework, it looks like they’re just warming up. '

https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/eaze-2021-accelerator-class-shows-budding-genius


'Recognized by Fast Company as a 2021 World Changing Idea, Eaze’s annual Momentum program received more than 250 applications from across 23 states and U.S. territories this year.

Momentum participants receive a $50,000 grant, a 12-week business development program led by industry experts, and support from Eaze’s business, marketing, legal, and PR resources. '

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210526005335/en/Industry-Defining-Cannabis-Investors-Gather-to-Support-Eaze’s-Momentum-Class-of-2021-at-Annual-Pitch-Day

'“Industrial Hemp can be grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, requires less water than crops like cotton or corn, and reaches maturity one hundred days from planting,” the federal agency said. “Hemp photosynthesizes carbon dioxide with greater efficiency than trees and can be harvested twice per year, doubling the rate of carbon sequestration.”

Further, the hemp blocks can “improve health outcomes for residents” because they contain components that are “antifungal and antimicrobial, reducing the risks of airborne bacteria while also being vapor permeable.”'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/epa-awards-100k-grant-to-support-production-of-hemp-based-bricks-for-sustainable-construction/

'Capital raised for marijuana mergers and acquisitions totaled a whopping $600 million in the first three months of this year, reflecting the booming popularity of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and more bullish investor sentiment about federal marijuana reform.

Last quarter’s funding for marijuana M&A amounted to the highest level since the third quarter of 2019 and underscores the flood of recent investments in the cannabis industry after a drought that began in late 2019.

SPACs, or “blank-check” companies, are behind the funding boom. They offer an expedited process for privately held companies to begin trading on public stock exchanges.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/spacs-help-push-funding-for-marijuana-mas-to-highest-quarterly-level-since-2019/

'Marijuana investors stopped writing checks in 2019 because many companies were spending vast amounts of money to gain market share but failed to show a profit. That caused their stock prices to crater.

But investors did an about face after Democrats won both seats in Georgia’s Senate runoff races on Jan. 5.

In the first two weeks of January alone, North American marijuana companies raised an unprecedented $619 million, according to closed deals tracked by Viridian. (See table above).

The money raised so early in the new year was 100 times the amount pocketed by cannabis companies in the first two weeks of 2016 and almost double the previous record for that time period, set in January 2018, according to Viridian.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/funding-for-marijuana-companies-surges-after-democrats-win-control-of-white-house-congress/

'NIHC says it plans to focus its advocacy on China and Europe as “top priority markets,” aiming to develop relationships and trade policies that will promote the sale of hemp products that are manufactured domestically.

The federal government has also recognized the market potential of China for the crop, which historically has been a main source of hemp imports. A trade deal announced at the beginning of the year requires the country to import hemp from the U.S. on a larger scale over the next two years.'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-awards-hemp-advocacy-group-200000-to-support-international-trade/

'Proponents of state ballot measures have outraised opponents this election season by almost 36-to-1, a massive increase from four years ago when advocates outstripped the opposition by only 4-to-1.

Supporters of the legalization measures in Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota have brought in roughly $19.6 million so far, compared with only $546,000 raised by opponents, according to a Marijuana Business Daily analysis using data from Ballotpedia and campaign-finance disclosures.

But that is a far cry from the $83.5 million supporters raised for the eight measures on the 2016 ballot, when California and Maine each raised record sums.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-legalization-proponents-outraising-opponents-36-to-1-in-2020/

'Many in the industry, Kampia said, continued to financially support reform efforts in the wake of the 2016 election, but instead of giving to groups such as MPP, they began donating to trade associations or hiring their own lobbyists to influence Congress and state legislatures.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-politiical-funding-shifts-from-nonprofits-to-trade-groups-multistate-operators/

'Although the Cannabis Act introduced a variety of classes of cannabis licences, including for smaller producers, the federal Government requires that a potential supplier have a production facility in place, meaning that the supplier will have already made a substantial investment prior to applying for a licence. Some have speculated that this has contributed to deterring small entrepreneurs from applying for licences and may have favoured the emergence of a market dominated or even monopolized by a relatively small number of large, multi-billion-dollar businesses. There have also been reports of the alcohol, tobacco and finance industries investing in companies involved in nonmedical cannabis production. For instance, according to media sources, in October 2017 Constellation Brands, a major international producer of wine, beer and spirits, invested $4 billion to acquire a 9.9 per cent stake in Canopy Growth, the leading Canadian producer, to develop cannabis-based beverages. By the end of December 2019, Constellation owned a 35 per cent stake in Canopy. In December 2018, the tobacco company Altria made a $1.8 million investment in Cronos Group, a cannabis production company, giving Altria a 45 per cent interest in Cronos. Earlier in the year, Molson Coors Brewing, another multinational alcohol company, signed a joint venture with Quebec-based HEXO to develop and market cannabis-infused beverages. Market analysts have predicted that the alcohol industry will also invest in companies that plan to produce beverages that combine cannabis and beer and, in particular, they predicted that by the end of 2019 two of the largest cannabis companies in the world would be owned by two of the largest alcohol and tobacco companies' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf

'North American cannabis companies have raised nearly $3.3 billion so far this year, outpacing the record funding levels set in 2018, according to the latest data from Viridian Capital Advisors.

With the closing of Altria Group’s $1.8 billion strategic investment in Canadian cannabis producer Cronos, fundraising levels through the first week of March are more than $1 billion ahead of the pace for this time last year.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/weekly-deal-watch-cannabis-capital-raises-outpace-record-2018-levels/


'BlackRock, one of the world’s largest money managers, disclosed in regulatory filings that its funds have an $11 million stake in Curaleaf Holdings, a Massachusetts-based medical cannabis company.

While the investment is tiny for BlackRock, which has nearly $6 trillion of assets under management, the stake is one of the first publicly disclosed investments by a major institutional investor into U.S. cannabis.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/investor-blackrock-11-million-investment-medical-cannabis-firm-curaleaf/


'Among this week’s top highlights: Through Nov. 16, cannabis companies across North America have raised $13.1 billion. That’s more than five times the amount raised during the same period in 2017.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/weekly-deal-watch-cannabis-capital-continues-bloom-ytd-total-more-than-5x-a-year-ago/


'Metrc, which operates cannabis seed-to-sale tracking systems in 11 states and Washington DC, raised $50 million to expand its operations with the help of two notable marijuana investors.

The funding round, according to a news release, was led by New York-based Tiger Global Management and California’s Casa Verde Capital. The latter was co-founded by rapper Snoop Dogg.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-tech-firm-metrc-gets-50m-with-help-from-snoop-dogg-tiger-global/


'Uruguayan medical cannabis company Cannapur is considering filing an initial public offering or tapping private investors in the first half of next year to fund a portion of the $53 million it needs to build an extraction laboratory and 10 greenhouses.'
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-29/uruguay-cannabis-firm-eyes-ipo-new-investors-to-fund-expansion


'In a nutshell, we help cannabis companies get their financial house in order. Finance is the language of business, so companies absolutely need to get it right. No matter where they are in the business lifecycle — when starting up, growing at high velocity, tackling a tricky transaction or maturing as an ongoing enterprise—cannabis companies need to have their finance function tightly managed for ultimate success.'
https://thecannabisindustry.org/member-spotlight-roseryan/


As TPB evolves to provide superior experiences for its customers beyond tobacco, this investment provides the capabilities to be at the forefront of this burgeoning market. TPB and CASH will work together to support and encourage farmers in Rhode Island, Kentucky and across the country to develop hemp farming and cannabinoid cultivation techniques.'
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181126005755/en/Turning-Point-Brands-Strategic-Investment-Canadian-American


'Altria – owner of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA and an investor in alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch InBev – has been assessing market opportunities in the cannabis industry.If a deal is completed, it would mark the first significant investment in the cannabis sector by a large alcohol or tobacco company since Constellation Brands bought a stake in Ontario-based Canopy Growth.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/cronos-talks-acquisition-marlboro-maker-altria/


'Altria Group, one of the largest tobacco companies in North America, has agreed to invest 2.4 billion Canadian dollars ($1.8 billion) in Ontario-based cannabis producer Cronos Group – the most significant foray by Big Tobacco into the rapidly growing cannabis industry to date.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/altria-cronos-exclusive-partnership/


' One of the world's biggest tobacco companies is diving into the cannabis market with a $1.8 billion buy-in.

Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is taking a 45 percent stake in Cronos Group, the Canadian medical and recreational marijuana provider said Friday.'
https://www.syracuse.com/us-news/index.ssf/2018/12/marlboro_maker_marijuana_business.html


'The cannabis industry has seen an influx of liquor companies such as Constellation Brands, Molson Coors Brewing, Heineken’s Lagunitas Brewing as well as tobacco firms Pyxus International (formerly Alliance One International), Altria Group (which owns Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA and is an investor in alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Imperial Brands.

Such influx might frighten small business owners in the U.S. marijuana industry, since the entire market has been built by tiny companies with relatively little access to serious capital with which to scale operations.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-big-alcohol-tobacco/


'To help people of color gain entry into the cannabis market, one marijuana industry veteran has developed a grant-funding program to give them a leg up.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/lack-of-capital-biggest-barrier-to-entry-for-minority-owned-cannabis-companies-qa-with-nuleafs-jeannette-ward-horton/


'Bermuda is lifting a regulatory ban on marijuana investment funds, a move that could grow the pool of international capital available for the legal cannabis industry and blaze a trail for other offshore financial centers.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/investors-opportunity-bermuda-cannabis/


'TILT’s program will “provide various levels of support” for qualifying applicants who are aiming to obtain MJ business licenses, according to the news release.

That support includes lending capital, cultivation infrastructure, software and more.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/ma-ancillary-marijuana-inclusion-program/


Weekly Cannabit from New Frontier Data:

• The North American cannabis sector established market legitimacy in 2018 with word of outside interests like Constellation Brands (maker of beer, wine, and spirits) investing heavily in the space.
• Likewise, a USD $1.8 billion buy-in by Altria group (owner of Marlboro) for a 45% stake in cannabinoid company, Cronos Group, marked bullish involvement by a Big Tobacco company with cannabis.
• Constellation Brands increased its original 9.9% stake in producer Canopy Growth Corp., to 38% for CAD $5 billion.
• Aurora Cannabis’ acquisitions of CanniMed Therapeutics (for CAD $1.23 billion) and MedReleaf Corp. (CAD $3.2 billion), respectively, were two more of the year’s largest deals.
• Among the 11 largest transactions highlighted in Canada or the U.S., the average cost of investment was USD $1.0 billion.
• As competition increases for market share and cannabis production heats up to meet domestic and international market demands, investors can expect more major M&A activity in 2019.

'"Everybody wants to be in the cannabis space, and I think investors have to be selective because … there will be a new name every week," Linton warned.'
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/pot-business-a-cannabis-industry-bubble-creates-investing-challenges.html


'The top eight financing deals – accounting for 35% of 2018 CSE raises – were by U.S.-affiliated cannabis companies.

They include Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings (CSE: CURA) and New York-based Acreage Holdings (CSE: ACRG.U), which led the pack with individual deals valued at more than $300 million each.

The CSE noted that financing through reverse takeovers (RTO) represented 51% of all financing in 2018 – up from 7% in 2017.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/us-cannabis-companies-led-cse-fundraising/


'Altria Group’s record-breaking investment of 2.4 billion Canadian dollars ($1.8 billion) in Ontario-based cannabis producer Cronos Group closed Friday, completing what is so far the largest investment by a tobacco company in the cannabis space.

The investment gives Altria a 45% stake in Cronos.

Altria also has a warrant that, if exercised, would bump its ownership in the integrated cannabis firm to 55%'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-firm-cronos-closes-ca2-4-billion-investment-from-tobacco-giant-altria/



'Dubbed Hypur Ventures II, the fund will focus partially on mergers, acquisitions and rollup opportunities but also on “seasoned operators” with still-maturing private companies.

Individual investments will range from $1 million to $25 million and a total fund cap of $500 million, according to a news release.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/hypur-marijuana-and-hemp-investment-fund/


'Obviously, the recent rise of the legal cannabis industry has been nothing short of remarkable, and the momentum enjoyed in 2018 has lent impetus to what has so far been seen in 2019. Yet, as individual states’ respective interests lead the United States federal government further toward the tipping point for nationwide legalization, and more global jurisdictions look to eliminate prohibition throughout the world, those aforementioned blue skies are looking ever closer within investors’ reach.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/for-industry-investment-2018-was-terrific-but-2019-looks-even-nicer/

• 'While 2018 saw a blockbuster year (with nearly $14 billion raised) for cannabis investments, 2019 is on pace to blow past that total.
• According to Bloomberg BI, as of March 22, the 100 public companies tracked in Bloomberg’s cannabis index had generated $3.8 billion, not including private deals or any by public companies outside those 100.
• Three convergent forces are driving surging investment into the sector:

1. Global expansion of cannabis as more countries legalize, presenting significant opportunity for core infrastructure investments;
2. U.S. legalization of hemp, fueling investment in its diverse applications both domestically and internationally; and
3. Continued expansion of the U.S. market as Michigan builds its adult-use program, and New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – all large population states – each considers legalizing for adult use.

• With cannabis already emerging as a key debate point for the 2020 U.S. elections, and a host of countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America likewise contemplating cannabis legalization, the need for investment capital will grow, keeping the record-shattering deals rolling.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/cannabis-industry-investments-q1-2015-q1-2019/


'There is a growing number of well-established companies that are asking not “if” but “how and when” they will need to add some sort of (cannabis) component or derivative to their product line.

It’s moving from the back to the front of everyone’s mind – from coffee companies, to beverage to performance foods and a lot more.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-investor-insights-venture-capitalist-codie-sanchez/


'You don't have to be a stoner to realize that legal cannabis is an industry ripe for profit. As more and more states and countries move to legalize certain uses of cannabis, investors who fail to put their hat in the ring could end up being some of the dumbest on Wall Street.'


'Unlike many other companies in the market, Merida’s name isn’t derived from anything related to cannabis. Instead, the company is named for a city in southern Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to the Aqueduct of Miracles (Acueducto de los Milagros). As a simple technology, the aqueduct had a profound effect on human civilization, and Baruchowitz sees the same potential in cannabis. Plus, the aqueduct imagery works nicely with the “M” in the firm’s name.'


“New companies are being established while older ones are growing,” the report starts. “Yet a significant factor is still missing, namely, a steady stream of capital."


'Altria Group, one of the largest tobacco companies in North America, is assessing its market opportunities in the cannabis industry.

The entry of Altria – owner of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA and an investor in alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch InBev – would be another major milestone for the marijuana sector, coming on the heels of Constellation Brands’ bombshell investment in Canopy Growth last month.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marlboro-maker-evaluating-opportunities-in-cannabis-industry/


'Canndescent, which already specializes in pre-rolled joints and premium cannabis flower, plans to expand into the vaporizer and edibles markets within the next year, according to a news release.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/california-marijuana-company-canndescent-closes-13-million-funding-round/


'Los Angeles-based MedMen Enterprises says it expects to raise up to 75 million Canadian dollars ($57 million) in a bought-deal equity financing plan, with the proceeds to be used to expand its U.S. retail footprint.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/medmen-inks-ca75-million-equity-financing-deal-to-expand-us-cannabis-operations/


"Investing in cannabis companies is still controversial in the U.S. because the federal government and many states still deem marijuana illegal," said Don Steinbrugge, Managing Partner at Agecroft Partners, recently named by Hedgeweek as the top hedge fund marketing firm for seventh time in eight years. "While some hedge funds have shied away from the industry for moral reasons, most have done it because they are concerned about the reaction of their investors."
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/310797


'Chicago-based cannabis firm Cresco Labs closed a $100 million funding round that attracted institutional investors, a notable milestone for cannabis finance in the United States.

The raise represents the second-largest deal inked in the U.S. marijuana industry to date. New York-based Acreage Holdings’ $119 million raise in July holds the top spot for private funding deals. Unlike Cresco, that deal relied on money from high-net-worth individuals and family offices from around the globe.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/cresco-labs-closes-100-million-raise-draws-institutional-investors-to-cannabis-industry/


'“Merida’s investment is a validation of Freedom Leaf’s aggressive efforts to build a high-quality family of cannabidiol-based products, but it is also an acknowledgement of the potential for the Valencia, Spain cultivation facility to become a significant supplier of both hemp and cannabis to European markets in the immediate future,” said Mitch Baruchowitz, Managing Partner of Merida Capital Partners.'
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/freedom-leaf-receives-investment-merida-130000201.html


'The nation’s largest radio broadcaster, IHeartMedia, has agreed to invest up to $10 million in the publisher of High Times magazine, giving the marijuana company access to the media firm’s digital and radio advertising platforms.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/iheartmedia-to-invest-up-to-10m-in-marijuana-publisher-high-times/


'Arizona’s medical marijuana market is one of the largest in the nation as well as one of the hottest, with costs to break into the market skyrocketing and investors scouring the state for potential opportunities.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/arizonas-sizzling-medical-marijuana-market-entices-investors-despite-legal-uncertainties/


'Expect to see the usual suspects on this list of well-known cannabis investors, as well as some surprises that know a good investment when they see it.'
https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/cool-business/celebrity-businesses/11-celebrities-that-are-profiting-from-their-investments-in-the-lucrative-pot-industry


'“We have a brand that hasn’t been monetized yet,” Levin said in August. “Now is that opportunity.”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/high-times-parent-hustles-to-lure-cannabis-investors-heres-what-you-need-to-know/