Clever Leaves International to list on NASDAQ via SPAC transaction
Clever Leaves, a multinational cannabis company with its primary operations in Latin America, jointly announced with Schultze Special Purpose Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SAMA) to merge and become a NASDAQ-listed public company. The deal is valued at $255 million, and the combined business, according to a press release, will have a cash balance of $111 million at closing. Clever Leaves intends to use the proceeds from the Business Combination to help fund the combined company’s business operations near-term and potential M&A opportunities. Clever Leave’s executive management team, led by CEO Kyle Detwiler and President Andrés Fajardo, will maintain leadership of the new entity. The combined company is anticipated to list in Q4 2020 under the ticker “CLVR.”
Kyle Detwiler, CEO of Clever Leaves, said, “We are proud of what we have accomplished to date in achieving an industry-leading position through our high-quality EU GMP certified operations and scalable cultivation and extraction capacity. These attributes have made us a global leader in low-cost cultivation with pharmaceutical-grade production primed for export. Our business combination with SAMA will significantly strengthen our balance sheet and take us to the next level, enabling us to accelerate the commercialization of our high-quality products as well as expand our operations and distribution in attractive markets around the world. Together with SAMA, we intend to work collaboratively to achieve accelerated growth and profitability.”
Clever Leaves has one of the largest cultivation and extraction operations in Latin America and is among the largest in the world, including Canada’s licensed producers and top extractors. Compared to Canadian operators, the company has exceptionally low costs due to its primary operations being in Colombia. Clever Leaves currently cultivates in over 1.9 million square feet of greenhouses. The company employs a staff of approximately 500 globally and has raised approximately $120 million of capital to date, including substantial debt and equity investments from leading institutional investors with a demonstrated track record in the cannabis sector.
Oregon closes FY 2020 with record-breaking tax revenue record in June
For June 2020, the state set a tax revenue record in $15.2 million and produced over $133 million in tax revenue in fiscal 2020. Compared to fiscal 2019, tax collections from marijuana grew over 30%. Oregon taxes retail cannabis sales at 17%, while counties or cities can apply a 3% tax.
Canadian operators compete against illicit online retailers
Per StratCann, a Canadian cannabis news outlet, Cision Canada published a press release on Monday by an online illicit retailer called Blowout420. The release by Blowout420 discusses the legal nuances of Canadian cannabis laws for consumers and ends with detailing how to order weed online from Blowout420. The site itself appears professional and aesthetically pleasing – it doesn’t appear to be violating any laws at all. With Cision Canada lending its authority to Blowout420 via publishing its press release, it only worsens lax regulations in an under-enforced Canadian market. Mail Order Marijuana (MOMS) are still a popular channel for Canadian consumers in Canada’s grey market.
The lack of enforcement against online illicit cannabis dispensaries is a headwind for legal operators.
