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Curaleaf becomes Biggest MSO Chain After Buying MSO Grassroots

The Multi-State Operator (MSO) Curaleaf recently purchased the dispensary chain Grassroots, which now makes them the largest MSO in the United States.

“The successful acquisition of Grassroots marks Curaleaf’s expansion into new vertically integrated markets in the Midwest, firmly establishing our US market leadership position,” said Curaleaf CEO Joseph Lusardi. “The integration of Grassroots is expected to be immediately accretive to our financial performance, with our unprecedented scale providing significant opportunities to leverage Curaleaf’s powerful consumer brands as well as new form factor innovations across our expanded national presence.”

Giant MSO

As part of their purchase, Grassroots CEO Mitchell Kahn is joining their board. He co-founded the company in 2014. Before being bought, they operated locations in five states. Grassroots Chief Operator Officer Matt Darin and Chief Strategy Officer Steve Wieseman will also join Curaleaf.

“Combined with his deep experience across commercial real estate as well as the legal field, Mitch adds significant expertise and insight that will be vital as we extend our market leadership position and drive long-term shareholder value,” said Boris Jordan, Executive Chairman of Curaleaf.

Before being involved in cannabis, Curaleaf’s Chairman Boris Jordan had an extensive career in Russia during their wild transition from communism in the 90s.

The deal was in the making for almost a year. Curaleaf paid about $875 million for Grassroots in a combination of cash and stock.

Curaleaf now controls 135 dispensary licenses, 88 operating dispensaries, 30 processing facilities, and 22 grow sites. They now have locations in 23 states, including New Jersey. Two-thirds of Americans live in the states in which they operate. That includes Illinois and Pennsylvania, which are two of the fastest-growing cannabis markets.

They are a publicly-traded company on the Canadian Stock Exchange. After the news of their purchase of Grassroots, Curaleaf was trading for $7.39 a share.

Curaleaf and New Jersey

Curaleaf has a significant presence in New Jersey. Not only do they have a dispensary in Bellmawr, but Curaleaf is also wholesaling cannabis products to recently opened dispensaries. They recently integrated their New Jersey location into their aggregate business. It was previously structured as a non-profit due to old regulations.

It is not without scandal since they paid a hefty fine for failure to comply with safety standards. What’s worse, NJ medical cannabis patients largely say their products are mediocre and very overpriced.

Last year their NJ CEO ranked on Insider NJ’s list of 100 most powerful people in cannabis in the state.

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