Minnesota-based Vireo Growth, a multi-state cannabis operator, announced another acquisition that keeps its recent M&A hot streak going.
The company said it's entered into an all-stock deal to acquire Fluent, which operates in Florida, New York and Texas. The company, which is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, has approximately 650 employees across eight cultivation and manufacturing facilities, and 35 active retail locations along with a wholesale division serving third party retailers in New York.
“The acquisition of Fluent meaningfully expands our presence in one of the most important cannabis markets in the country. Florida’s limited-license structure rewards scale, and combining two complementary networks with minimal overlap creates a platform that is meaningfully harder to replicate," said Vireo CEO John Mazarakis in a statement. "The business we receive at closing we believe will be positioned to generate meaningful cash flow before we apply a single Vireo synergy. We believe we will be acquiring a structurally improved asset at an attractive entry point, and we intend to move quickly to realize the full potential of the combined Florida platform.”
Vireo earlier this month closed its deal to acquire cannabis cultivation unit Hawthorne from Scotts Miracle-Gro after recently buying retail assets from Eaze, PharmaCann and Schwazze. Those transactions expanded Vireo’s retail presence in Colorado to 55 stores.
Vireo also recently announced an agreement with Glass House, one of the largest cannabis growers in the U.S., to combine their California retail operations into a new joint venture.
Glass House currently operates 11 California retail locations, and Vireo operates 12 dispensaries and home delivery operations recently acquired from Eaze. The combined network will be supported by a preferential supply agreement with Glass House. Cory Azzalino, Vireo's president of California and former CEO of Eaze, has been tapped to run the joint venture, where he will oversee operations and lead the platform's retail acquisition and expansion strategy.
