Ayr Wellness Archives - Green Market Report

StaffMarch 9, 2023
daily-hit.jpg

5min8050

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for March 9, 2023.

On the Site

Trulieve’s 2023 Road Map: Open More Stores and Bankroll Florida Legalization

Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) had a busy 2022 expanding and finishing off its blockbuster acquisition of Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation. By contrast, this year the company plans to spend more time keeping its head down and focusing on making money. Read more here.

Jones Soda Plans More Cannabis Expansion

Beverage maker Jones Soda Co. (CSE: JSDA) (OTCQB: JSDA) just finished its second year of a “three-year turnaround strategy” and is now making cannabis a core component that plan by expanding its infused-product offerings even further. Read more here.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Weigh Options for Adult-Use Legalization

Now that Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has formally introduced a budget that contains specifics for taxing adult-use cannabis, state lawmakers are beginning to examine different options on how a recreational market could be structured. That includes potentially letting state-run liquor stores sell marijuana instead of giving first crack at the market to existing medical marijuana companies. Read more here.

Ayr Wellness’ Early Bets on Emerging Markets Pay Off

Expansion efforts and key market partnerships are starting to pay off for Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A) (OTCQX: AYRWF) after new earnings show the Florida-based multistate operator’s new business strategies added meat to its balance sheet. The company generated $124.6 million in revenue in the fourth quarter. Still, the company reported a net loss of $166.4 million for the quarter. Read more here.

Village Farms Sales Dip Slightly in Fourth Quarter

Village Farms International, Inc. (Nasdaq: VFF) delivered revenue fell 5% to $69.5 million from last year’s $72.8 million. It just barely missed the Yahoo Finance average analyst estimate for revenue of $70 million. The company blamed the drop on a stronger U.S. dollar compared to the Canadian dollar decreasing reported U.S. sales for our Canadian Cannabis operations by ($2.4 million). Read more here.

In Other News

Unrivaled Brands

Unrivaled Brands Inc. (OTCQB: UNRV), a cannabis company with retail and cultivation operations throughout California, entered into a binding term sheet to resolve outstanding litigation with People’s California LLC, subject to final documentation. Upon execution of the binding term sheet, the parties agreed to inform the court of the settlement and request a stay of all pending litigation. Read more here.

Stiiizy

California-based cannabis and lifestyle brand Stiiizy is entering the regulated cannabis market in Illinois, bringing the number of states where the company’s products are available to five. The brand’s launch in Illinois will include three of its signature product lines, with a rollout to more than 90% of the licensed dispensaries serving the state’s $1.5 billion adult-use cannabis market. Read more here.


StaffFebruary 9, 2023
daily-hit.jpg

5min9460

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for February 9, 2023.

On the Site

Canopy Slashes 800 From Payroll After Revenues Slide

Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) (Nasdaq: CGC) reported slumping revenues on Thursday and signaled a new cost-savings era that includes cutbacks on cultivation and 800 layoffs. The stock fell more than 8% in early trading on the news to lately sell at $2.52, a big drop from its year high of $9.61. Read more here.

Aurora Cannabis Revenue Boosted by Strong Euro

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (Nasdaq: ACB) (TSX: ACB) achieved positive adjusted EBITDA and reduced its debt even though it still recorded a net loss in its latest quarterly earnings. Aurora attributed the rising revenue to “growth across all cannabis business segments” as well as a full-quarter contribution of C$6.6 million from Bevo Farms. Read more here.

How Much Adult-Use Cannabis Has New York Sold? Who Knows?

While many other states quickly release sales figures for new cannabis markets, New York has been conspicuously silent. Inquiries to the New York Office of Cannabis Management and the existing stores regarding sales figures have been met with silence. Read more here.

Ayr Wellness to Exit Arizona, Expand to Ohio

Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A) (OTCQX: AYRWF) is exiting Arizona and turning its attention to Ohio. The multistate cannabis operator signed a definitive agreement to sell its Arizona assets, Blue Camo LLC, to AZ Goat LLC. Read more here.

Cannabis Dispensary Deals Show How Prices Are Falling

The value of a cannabis dispensary just isn’t what it used to be. Six months ago, Planet 13 (OTC: PLNHF), a Las Vegas-based marijuana company, announced it would pull the trigger on its option to buy out its social-equity partner in an Illinois cannabis dispensary in a $2.9 million transaction. By the time the deal closed yesterday, the value had dropped by $1 million because of the steep downdraft in the stocks of cannabis companies. Read more here.

In Other News

Pineapple Express Cannabis Co.

Minaro Corp. (OTC Pink: MNAO) (the “Company”), a publicly traded company, announced the execution of a share exchange, the change of its name to Pineapple Express Cannabis Company, and an application to change the company’s current ticker symbol. Read more here.

Halo Collective

Halo Collective Inc. (NEO: HALO) (OTCQB: HCANF) expanded the company’s cannabis genetics and strain portfolio within its Oregon operations. With the expansion, Halo Collective now offers a wide range of unique and rare strains, sourced from some of the top growers and breeders in the state. Read more here.

BioHarvest Sciences

BioHarvest Sciences Inc. (CSE: BHSC) (OTCQB: CNVCF) reported sales orders of $6.1 million in 2022 , representing a 160% increase over 2021. Fourth-quarter sales orders of $2.7 million were more than triple the sales orders from the same quarter in 2021. Read more here.


StaffJanuary 30, 2023
daily-hit.jpg

8min10330

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for January 30, 2023.

On the Site

IIP

An investor group is suing Innovative Industrial Properties (IIP)  (NYSE: IIPR) for not doing proper due diligence in its Kings Garden investment. Investor Michael Mallozzi originally sued IIP in April 2022, when the Blue Orca Capital report came out. He was then joined by investors Alejandro Handal and Stephen Forrester. They are claiming IIP mislead investors, was incompetent, and broke securities laws. In December, IIP asked the court to dismiss the case, but the latest brief asks the court to deny that request to dismiss because IIP was aware that Kings Garden was a Ponzi scheme while telling investors everything was OK. Read more here.

Akerna

Akerna Corp. (Nasdaq: KERN) said on Friday afternoon that it will merge with a bitcoin mining company and offload its software business to POSaBIT Systems Corporation (CSE: PBIT) (OTC: POSAF) for stock and cash, respectively. Akerna will sell its MJ Freeway business units, including MJ Platform and Leaf Data System brands, and Ample Organics to POSaBIT for $4 million in cash. The company said it plans to use the proceeds of the transaction, after expenses, to pay its remaining outstanding accounts payable and pay down any remaining principal balance on its outstanding senior secured convertible notes, in addition to net cash requirements associated with the proposed merger between Akerna and Gryphon. Read more here.

Flora Growth

Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) released its revenue guidance for the fiscal year 2023 as the company forecasted a range of $90 million to $105 million.  Flora said that its estimates reflect expected organic growth in the House of Brands division and expansion of the Commercial & Wholesale division capabilities. The stock was jumping 18% in early trading on the news and was lately selling at 31 cents. However, it still has a long way to go to regain the Nasdaq’s minimum $1.00 bid price requirement. Read more here.

Ayr Wellness

The acquisition of Chicago marijuana retailer Dispensary 33 went up in smoke amid a cash crunch caused by a steep decline in cannabis stocks and a sharp increase in interest rates. Miami-based Ayr Wellness (OTC: AYRWF) said on Jan. 27 it’s not going to complete the $55 million acquisition of D33, a popular independent marijuana retailer. The deal was announced in November 2021, about a year after Ayr went public. Read more here.

Okay Cannabis

The Chicago restaurant group behind West Town Bakery is teaming up with a new dispensary that’s opening in suburban Wheeling next month, and it’ll be part bakery and cafe, part marijuana shop. The store, called Okay Cannabis, will essentially have a West Town Bakery Cafe & Lounge operating alongside the marijuana shop. The shop will serve Dark Matter coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and cocktails, and it will have an outdoor patio that seats more than 100 people. Instead of staging customers in a waiting area like most dispensaries do, the idea is to let them hang out at the cafe, said Scott Weiner, co-owner of Fifty/50 Restaurant Group. Read more here.

In Other News

IM Cannabis Corp.  (NASDAQ: IMCC) (CSE: IMCC)has closed a third tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement offering of units of the company. An aggregate of 1,162,000 Units at a price of $1.25 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,452,500 was issued and sold under the third tranche of the LIFE Offering.  To date, the company has also closed during the first and second tranches for aggregate gross proceeds of $3,024,153. Read more here.

CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC Pink: CBDD) announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Libra 9 GMBH. The company is in the process of relocating its operations to the Libra 9 campus in Berlin, Germany. Libra 9 has the necessary infrastructure in place to scale up manufacturing and warehousing, enabling the company to immediately expand its sales throughout the rest of Europe. Read more here.

 


StaffJanuary 30, 2023
shutterstock_353394851-scaled.jpg

5min9010

This story was republished with permission from Crain’s Chicago and written by John Pletz.

The acquisition of Chicago marijuana retailer Dispensary 33 went up in smoke amid a cash crunch caused by a steep decline in cannabis stocks and a sharp increase in interest rates.

Miami-based Ayr Wellness (OTC: AYRWF) said on Jan. 27 it’s not going to complete the $55 million acquisition of D33, a popular independent marijuana retailer. The deal was announced in November 2021, about a year after Ayr went public. The company’s stock peaked at $36.54 in February 2021 but now trades at $1.29 per share. That spelled disaster for a deal that was to be paid mostly in stock. Cannabis stocks have been struggling for more than a year but suffered further declines after the SAFE Banking Act failed to pass Congress.

“The cannabis market has changed significantly in the 15 months since we agreed to acquire Dispensary 33,” Ayr President David Goubert said in a statement. “Both parties have acknowledged this reality and engaged in good-faith dialogue as we came to the mutual decision to terminate the proposed arrangement.”

It’s the second time an acquisition of a Chicago company has been scuttled by changing fortunes in the industry. Not only is there a broad-based market correction, but cannabis is particularly volatile because the stocks are held largely by retail investors rather than institutions. Three years ago, the $850 million acquisition of Verano Holdings was called off after a change in fortunes for marijuana stocks.

The cancelation of the D33 deal is just one example of how large, publicly traded weed companies are scrambling to adapt to the industry’s woes. Last week, Curaleaf, which became the largest U.S. cannabis company three years ago after buying Chicago-based chain Grassroots, pulled out of California, Colorado, and Oregon, and laid off 4% of its staff and cut payroll by 10%.

States such as these, along with Michigan, are much more competitive because there are few barriers to getting a license to grow or sell marijuana. As a result, prices in those markets have collapsed. Even in Illinois, which has had among the highest marijuana prices in the nation because regulations limit the number of licenses, has seen prices fall even as other costs have risen for cannabis companies because of inflation in equipment and labor prices.

Inflation elsewhere in the economy also has put pressure on consumer spending. Although most marijuana users are still buying weed, many have traded down to lower-priced brands. Sales growth slowed in Illinois in December.

The belt-tightening by large players such as Curaleaf, which have the best access to capital, is an ominous sign for the 192 winners of new retail licenses in Illinois who are trying to get their stores open.


Get the latest cannabis news delivered right to your inbox

The Morning Rise

Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.

 Sign up


About Us

The Green Market Report focuses on the financial news of the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Our target approach filters out the daily noise and does a deep dive into the financial, business and economic side of the cannabis industry. Our team is cultivating the industry’s critical news into one source and providing open source insights and data analysis


READ MORE



Recent Tweets

@GreenMarketRpt – 2 hours

Schwazze Loses $18.5 Million Despite ‘Record’ Revenue

@GreenMarketRpt – 7 hours

Massachusetts Republican Wants to Cap Potential MDMA Therapy Costs

Back to Top

Choose Your News

Subscribe to the Green Market Report newsletter that gives you original content delivered straight to your inbox.

 Subscribe

By continuing I agree to your Privacy Policy and consent to receive relevant newsletters and other email communications on events, editorial features, and special partner offers from Green Market Report. I can unsubscribe or change my email preferences at any time.