Etain Archives - Green Market Report

John SchroyerFebruary 1, 2023

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Mark Sims optimistic, despite shareholder push to oust him.

StaffDecember 21, 2022

The Daily Hit is a recap of cannabis business news for Dec. 21, 2022.

ON THE SITE

Unhappy Riv Capital Investors Want to Toss Board

JW Asset Management, the largest shareholder of RIV Capital (OTC: CNPOF), has called for a special meeting of shareholders to replace five of the seven directors on the board. At the heart of the dissatisfaction is the price paid for New York cannabis company Etain. Read more here.

Shaq Wants His Cannabis Money Back

Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and business partner Jerome Crawford spent $150,000 investing in Viceroy LLC back in 2017. Viceroy was supposed to use the money to invest in legal cannabis businesses but is now described as a “black hole” with no evidence of having made any efforts with the money. Read more here.

Housing Works Gets First Legal Adult-Use Cannabis Sales in New York

New York will meet its self-imposed end-of-year deadline to launch recreational cannabis sales, with 48 hours to spare. At the state’s Cannabis Control Board meeting Wednesday, the agency’s executive director revealed that the first licensed adult-use marijuana sales will take place Dec. 29 at a dispensary run by the nonprofit Housing Works, one of the 36 retail license recipients announced a month ago. Read more here.

Trulieve Extends 2023 Cash Runway with $71.5 Million in Financing

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) on Wednesday closed on a financing deal that will provide the company additional funds to the tune of $71.5 million. The commercial loan is secured by a cultivation and manufacturing site in Florida, and the company said it will pay interest at a fixed rate of 7.53% for the duration of the five-year loan – a solid rate for the cannabis industry. Read more here. Read more here.

SNDL Bets on Nova for the Long Run, Revises Accord

SNDL (Nasdaq: SNDL) and Nova Cannabis (OTCQB: NVACF) have fashioned new terms for their existing relationship as the two look to grab more market share in a consolidating Canada. Read more here.

IN OTHER NEWS

Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis Corp.

Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis Corporation (CSE: GWAY) (OTC: GWAYF), a cultivator of greenhouse cannabis for the Canadian market, entered into a binding third-party purchase and sale agreement for the sale of a surplus greenhouse for a purchase price of C$7.5 million. Read more here.

New Leaf Ventures Inc.

New Leaf Ventures Inc. (CSE: NLV) (OTC: NLVVF) has entered into an amalgamation agreement with High Profile Holdings Corp., pursuant to which New Leaf has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of High Profile by way of a statutory three-cornered amalgamation. Read more here.

Debra BorchardtDecember 21, 2022

The Etain acquisition sparked the unrest.

StaffDecember 15, 2022

The Daily Hit is a recap of cannabis business news for Dec. 15, 2022.

ON THE SITE

California Investor Claims Fraud on CBD Company

A California investment manager has filed a lawsuit against the principals of a fraudulent CBD company claiming the individuals misrepresented their experience and the company. The court complaint, filed Dec. 9, accuses Paul Fiore and Jay Rifkin of claiming to have cannabis business experience, when they didn’t, and inflating the valuations of companies they were operating. Read more here.

HEXO Beats on Revenue, Cuts Cash Burn as it Tries to Stay Alive

HEXO Corp. (TSX: HEXO) (Nasdaq: HEXO) posted earnings that beat revenue expectations as restructuring acrobatics over the past year continues to play out for the company. Net revenues for the quarter were C$35.8 million, down 29% versus C$50.2 million in the same period last year. The company said that the decline was attributable in part to “the timing of revenue recognition as certain shipments failed to reach their destination due to severe weather towards the period end.” Read more here.

RIV Capital Closes Acquisition of Etain, Preps for Expansion in New York

RIV Capital Inc. (CSE: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF), an acquisition and investment firm, closed its previously announced acquisition of Etain LLC, one of 10 vertically integrated cannabis operators in New York. Under the terms of the transaction, RIV Capital paid the remaining purchase price with $42 million in cash and C$8.7 million in newly issued shares. Read more here.

University of Illinois Plans Cannabis Research Center

Discovery Partners Institute, the University of Illinois research center underway in the South Loop, has high hopes to launch a marijuana research facility. DPI has support from the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, but it doesn’t yet have funding commitments from either one for a project that likely will need tens of millions to become a reality. Read more here.

Primitiv Tackles the Michigan Cannabis Market

Michigan-based cannabis company Primitiv is dedicated to the advancement of cannabis as a form of elevated wellness, believing that the plant holds incredible potential as a healing agent. Green Market Report caught up with co-founders, Calvin Johnson Jr. and Rob Sims, at MJBizCon in November to talk about how they’re tackling the Michigan market. Check out the conversation here.

IN OTHER NEWS

Diego Pellicer Worldwide

Diego Pellicer Worldwide Inc. (OTC Market: DPWW), a premium cannabis company, announced that it has signed a binding settlement term sheet with its Colorado tenants, Royal Asset Management LLC and Venture Product Consulting LLC. Under the terms, Neil Demers, the majority owner of RAM and VPC, will transfer and cause to transfer 100% of all membership interests of RAM and 99% of membership interests of VPC to Diego or a special purpose acquisition company designated by Diego. The agreement resolves a lawsuit in which the company alleged that RAM was in breach of contract for failure to make payments under sublease agreements and a promissory note that Diego issued to RAM. Read more here.

C21 Investments

C21 Investments Inc. (CSE: CXXI) (OTCQX: CXXIF) (“C21” or the “Company”), a vertically integrated cannabis company, reported revenue of $7.2 million for the third quarter ended Oct. 3. Overall revenue fell 0.4% from the second quarter, while sales in Nevada declined 14.7% during the period. Read more here.

StaffDecember 15, 2022

Etain's former owners now have a 16% stake in RIV.

StaffDecember 9, 2022

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First stop Etain flagship medical dispensary in midtown Manhattan for a party highlighting Buy Weed From Women. Then it was on to Work & Roll, the New York City cannabis-friendly co-working space and the latest hot spot for events. Kym Byrnes of Tribe Tokes hosted this Holidaze and as you can see by the cloudy haze – it was definitely cannabis friendly.

John SchroyerDecember 2, 2022

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Draft regulations 'kicking them in the kneecaps.'

StaffNovember 29, 2022

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The Daily Hit is a recap of cannabis business news for Nov. 29, 2022.

ON THE SITE

Flowr Corp. Throws in Towel, Looks for Buyers

Toronto-based The Flowr Corp., (TSX.V: FLWR) (OTC: FLWPF) is officially on the market after it reported that it does not have enough of a runway to make it to the end of the third quarter. According to regulatory filings, potential bidders submitted binding offers last Friday, with financial firm Ernst & Young Inc. acting as a monitor. Read more here.

RIV Capital Closing in on New York Acquisition, Loses $142 Million in Q2

RIV Capital Inc. (CSE: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF) posted a $142.3 million loss for its second quarter of fiscal 2023, but most of the losses were chalked up to a “goodwill impairment charge” as part of the upcoming acquisition of New York-based Etain – a deal that RIV Capital leadership said would give the firm a national foundation for future growth. Read more here.

Pritzker Names New Cannabis Chief

Erin Johnson, a lawyer for Amazon and state government veteran, has been named the state’s top cannabis regulator. Johnson is an associate general counsel for Amazon Web Services but was chief of staff at the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice in the Pritzker administration from 2019 to mid-2021. Previously she was associate general counsel and chief diversity officer from 2016 to 2018 for then-Gov. Bruce Rauner. Read more here.

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IN OTHER NEWS

High Times

The owners of High Times magazine have dropped their lawsuit against a former majority shareholder of the publication’s parent company, according to a joint stipulation entered Monday in California federal court. The stipulation notes that the action has been dismissed with prejudice and holds that each party bears their own costs. It makes no mention of a settlement, and counsel for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Read more here.

The Valens Company Inc.

Shareholders of the Valens Company Inc. (TSX: VLNS) (Nasdaq: VLNS) voted in favor of the resolution approving the plan for SNDL Inc. to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Valens on the basis of 0.3334 of a SNDL common share for each outstanding Valens common share. More than 96% of votes cast at the company’s special meeting of shareholders held on Nov. 29 were in favor of the resolution. Read more here.

Rhode Island

As Rhode Island is set to begin recreational marijuana sales Thursday, state regulators are ramping up their staff as they oversee the industry. The state legalized adult recreational cannabis in May, with the planned start of sales on Dec. 1. Read more here.

John SchroyerNovember 29, 2022

RIV wrote down the value of the Etain acquisition due to uncertainty around New York's launch.