📝 Tilray Chairman and CEO, Sends Shareholder Letter Mapping out $4B Revenue Plan
📝 Tilray Chairman and CEO, Sends Shareholder Letter Mapping out $4B Revenue Plan
Hifyre acquires PotGuide. Earnings (Q2 Revenue) – Planet 13 ($32.8M), Hollister Biosciences ($17.6M), SLANG ($11.3M). Curio Wellness Rebrands Retail brand to Far & Dotter.
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💵Deals
Fire & Flower and Hifyre — Acquisition of PotGuide. PotGuide is one of the most visited cannabis websites in North America, as reported by industry-standard online traffic tools. Along with the proposed acquisition of certain assets of Wikileaf, announced earlier this month, the Hifyre digital network will become one of the world's most visited networks of cannabis websites and content platforms. Upon closing, the Acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to the Company's revenue and profitability and will provide Hifyre with a U.S. base for technology and operations. PotGuide and Wikileaf bring an existing subscriber base of approximately 225,000 cannabis consumers into the Spark Perks™ ecosystem. Subscribers will be invited to enroll in the Company's Spark Perks™ member program, which already boasts over 300,000 subscribers. The program allows members to unlock unique benefits and helps Hifyre build a greater understanding of cannabis consumer preferences across North America as part of the Hifyre IQ data program.
Pelorus Equity Group — $19 Million Construction-Financing Loan with Item 9 Labs. The proceeds from Pelorus’ high-performance loan will be used to finance the acquisition of 44 acres of adjacent land next to Item 9 Labs’ 19,200 sq. ft. facility in Arizona, which has been operational since 2017. The loan will also be used to finance the master site development. Construction of phase 1 consists of three additional steel buildings and two green houses. This initial expansion adds 9,600 sq. ft. for indoor cultivation, 9,600 sq. ft. of lab and packaging and a 9,600 sq. ft. head house to support the addition of the two 18,000 sq. ft. greenhouses. The total expansion will consist of six more buildings – one will be for expansion of the Company’s lab and support space for finished product, and the other five will be for indoor cultivation. Once complete, the Item 9 Labs site will comprise 640,000-plus sq. ft. of cannabis operations.
In Arizona, Item 9 Labs is currently cultivating and manufacturing a range of cannabis products, including 75-plus high-quality cannabis strains that are sold at 60% of Arizona’s dispensaries, along with 150 differentiated cannabis products. In Nevada, Item 9 Labs will use the proceeds to complete its 20,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art cultivation, manufacturing and lab facility and produce products for the Silver State’s marketplace.
Jushi — Completes Previously Announced Acquisition of Licensed Processor in Ohio; Announces Debut of the First in a Series of Cannabis Brands in Ohio. Franklin Bioscience OH operates an 8,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art processing facility located in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, the Company has launched a series of upcoming brands and products in the State of Ohio, beginning with the debut of its brand, Sèche, the Company’s fine flower line, which is currently available for purchase at partner dispensaries across the Buckeye State. Jushi plans to follow the Sèche brand launch with the debut of Tasteology, the Company’s brand of premium, real fruit, cannabis-infused gummies and tarts, available in the following cannabis-infused gummies flavors: Blueberry Calm, Peach Balance and Mango-Pineapple Boost, and in the following cannabis-infused tarts flavors: Green Apple Balance, Sour Watermelon Boost, Blue Raspberry Calm and Mellow Mint. Jushi’s award-winning vaporization line, The Lab, in the form of .5g and .3g vape cartridges with rechargeable batteries, will also make its official Ohio debut in the coming weeks.
Greenlane — Shareholders Vote to Approve Merger with KushCo. Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, KushCo will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenlane in an all-stock, tax-free business combination.
Decibel Cannabis Company — $10 Million Bought Deal Unit Offering. Decibel Cannabis, a premium cannabis producer, has entered into an agreement pursuant to which Eight Capital, Haywood Securities and Raymond James, will purchase 34,500,000 units of the Company, on a “bought deal” basis pursuant to the filing of a short form prospectus, subject to all required regulatory approvals, at a price per Unit of $0.29 for gross proceeds of $10,005,000. Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Share at an exercise price of $0.40 for a period of 36 months following the closing date of the Offering.
📄Company Updates / Earnings
Tilray — Chairman and CEO, Irwin D. Simon, Sends Shareholder Letter Mapping out $4B Revenue Plan. He listed five key competitive differentiators:
The industry’s broadest geographic footprint and operational scale. Tilray now possesses the geographic footprint and operational scale to emerge as a consolidator in the global cannabis market
Leadership position in Canada, with a complete portfolio of product offerings and carefully curated brands. Plan to grow and strengthen our position as the #1 Canadian LP in total sales on a consolidated basis. This is the foundation that will be so essential to getting Tilray from their current combined retail market share in Canada of 16% to our goal of 30% share by fiscal year 2024
Tremendous international growth opportunities from a strong base. The European Union, where Tilray already has a very meaningful presence, represents a powerful growth market, and could be a $1 billion business for them in medical use alone. They will also be ready for adult-use legalization when the time comes
A leading U.S. CPG platform to be immediately leveraged for cannabis products upon federal legalization. In the U.S., they already have a strong consumer packaged goods presence and infrastructure with two strategic pillars, SweetWater, the 11th largest craft brewer in the nation and leading lifestyle brand, and Manitoba Harvest, a pioneer in branded hemp, CBD and wellness products, with access to 17,000 stores in North America. Together, they are already $100-plus million businesses and quite profitable – but still have enormous potential
Accretive acquisitions and other growth opportunities. The investment Tilray recently made in the outstanding senior secured convertible notes of MedMen, is a critical step towards delivering on their objective as they work to enable Tilray to lead the U.S. market when legalization allows
Planet 13 — Q2 2021 Financial Results, comparisons below are to Q2 2020
Revenues were $32.8M as compared to $10.8M, an increase of 205.2%
Gross profit before biological adjustments was $18.7M or 56.9% as compared to $4.7M or 43.8%
Operating expenses, excluding non-cash compensation expense and depreciation and amortization, was $12.5M as compared to $5.8M, an increase of 114.8%
Net loss before taxes of $0.9M as compared to a net loss of $3.3M
Net loss of $4.4M as compared to a net loss of $4.0M
Adjusted EBITDA of $7.2M as compared to Adjusted EBITDA loss of $0.6M
Cash of $136.3M as compared to $79.0M
Hollister Biosciences — Q2 2021 Financial Results
Total revenue was $17.6M compared to $8.5M in Q2 2020 and $23.1M in Q1 2021
Gross profit in the second quarter was $4.3M, compared to $1.5M in Q2 2020 and $3.6M in Q1 2021
Gross profit margin was 25%, compared to 18% in Q2 2020 and 16% in Q1 2021
Net income was $1.6M compared to $2M in Q1 2021
Adjusted EBITDA was $3.2M compared to $2.8M in Q1 2021
SLANG Worldwide — Q2 2021
Revenue for Q2 2021 was $11.3M, compared with $4.6M in Q2 2020 and $9.9M in Q1 2021. The primary driver of year over year growth was a rebound in demand in the Company's Core Markets of Colorado and Oregon as well as the consolidation of wholesale revenue. Strength in the Company's Emerging Markets also contributed to sequential growth, as did the successful launch of new products, including Lunchbox Alchemy CBD
Adjusted EBITDA was ($0.95M) in Q2 2021, compared with ($1.8M) in Q2 2020 and an improvement of approximately $10,000 over Q1 2021
EBITDA of ($3.2M) in Q2 2021, compared with ($4.2M) in Q2 2020 and ($4.6M) in Q1 2021. The improvement in EBITDA from the prior-year and prior-quarter represents a 24% and 31% improvement, respectively
The Company reported $9.7M of cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2021, compared to $6.5M at December 31, 2020
🏬Retail
Curio Wellness — Rebrands, Expands Cannabis Retail Franchise to New States.
The company is now accepting franchise applications in 10 states, including Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and Illinois. The program is designed to lower barriers to opening a dispensary. Anyone can apply to secure a franchise license, and diverse founders can seek capital through the Curio Wellness Fund. Curio Wellness expects to be able to sponsor 40 to 50 retail stores. The company is also rebranding its retail operations to Far & Dotter. TechCrunch spoke to Jerel Registre, managing director at Curio WMBE Fund, who says the fund raised $20 million to date and expects to close the fundraising on October 31. He’s proud of the fund’s investor base, pointing to the diverse investor base representing 40% of the fund.
🌱Product
Glass House Farms — New Line of Infused Pre-Rolls. Glass House Farms launch its first-ever line of live resin- and diamond-infused prerolls (IPR) to reach consumers looking for potent, fast-onset highs. The Company's new format contains five power-packed, flavor-forward half-gram pre-rolls, each infused with full-spectrum live resin and THCa diamonds extracted from hand-selected, fresh-frozen flower by the experts at partner FIELD Extracts to lift consumers "up, up, and away." This initial offering includes four mouthwatering varieties: an energetic sativa-dominant-hybrid, Marine Layer; two relaxing indica-dominant offerings, Citrus Apricot and Papaya Tarts; and an evenly balanced hybrid, Ice Cream Cloud. Each high-potency pre-roll contains sustainably grown cannabis from the Santa Barbara Coast, tests at 35-40% THC, and uses no distillate, no added terpenes, nor any other "refined" or "shortcut" extraction techniques.
GRiZ — On His New Cannabis Line Astro Hippie And CBD Line Telescope. Producer and DJ Grant Kwiecinski, aka GRiZ, announced the launch of Telescope, a hemp-derived CBD line of products available in every state, and Astro Hippie, a full line of THC-rich cannabis products in Michigan.
🧔People | 💻Hiring
KCSA — Kris Krane joins as Director of Cannabis Development and Head of Chicago Office. KCSA Strategic Communications (KCSA), a New York-based integrated communications firm, is both opening a Chicago office and expanding its cannabis practice by adding Kris Krane, former President of 4Front Ventures, to the team. In his new role with KCSA, Mr. Krane will focus on business development and advising the Firm's cannabis clients, as well as focus on establishing a presence for KCSA in Chicago. He will also play an active role on KCSA's podcast,The Green Rush. Krane has been a regular host of Marijuana Today, the most downloaded cannabis podcast, as well as a regular speaker at key Cannabis conferences and investor conferences.
HEXO — Guillaume Jouët joins as Chief People & Culture Officer. Guillaume brings more than 20 years of experience as a senior international executive leading human resources, sustainability, public affairs and communications functions, to his role at HEXO. Guillaume’s diverse experience includes manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, agriculture, food products, infrastructure, mining and natural resources with roles at Bel (GoGo squeeZ, The Laughing Cow, Boursin, Babybel, etc.) and Italcementi Group (now Heidelberger Group). ). Most recently, Guillaume has worked as a consultant, advising companies on innovation, sustainability, organization and leadership matters.
🎙️Interviews
Clio — Lantern's Liz Gottbrecht on Ditching the Stoner Stereotype in Cannabis
Cool Hunting — Guy Rocourt, Papa & Barkley
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