StaffJuly 25, 2022
Former Cresco Labs co-founder Joseph Caltabiano (OTC: CRLBF) has decided to close his SPAC (special purpose acquisition corp.) Choice Consolidation Corp. (NEO: CDXX.UN.U) (OTCQX: CDXXF) and return the investor’s money. It had raised $172.5 million. The SPAC’s original plan was to target strategically important limited license states, and the company was looking to acquire single-state operators, distressed assets, and rehabilitation licenses. The company released a statement after the market closed on Friday saying that current market conditions favor single-state operators maintaining the status quo until capital is flush to create operating scale. Thus, no appropriate target was found within the timeline for the SPAC.
The SPAC will be wound down and the company’s Class A restricted voting units will be automatically redeemed on or about August 16, 2022. The company’s board of directors has determined that it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders for the Company to be wound-up as they do not believe that an appropriate qualifying transaction can be identified and completed within the company’s permitted timeline. The SPAC stock began trading on August 1, 2021, on the OTC Marketplace.
“While the creation of the legal and regulated cannabis industry presents the opportunity to harness growth potential of a burgeoning industry, the current shifting market conditions and partisan political gridlock have made our current pathway too unpredictable. After careful review and consideration, we believe it is in the best interest of our shareholders to return their investments at a time when it can be better deployed in other vehicles. Our passion and confidence in the cannabis sector have not waned, and I look forward to unlocking future opportunities in the industry,” said Caltabiano, CEO of Choice Consolidation Corp.
The Choice SPAC did say that when favorable tax benefits are available and cannabis marketing and branding is normalized nationwide, conditions will improve for single-state operators to enter the public market. Viridian Capital Advisors wrote that as of July 15, total equity issuance is off 75.2% y/o/y, with a more significant 78.6% decline in Canadian equity financing.
