Akerna Ramps Up Dealmaking, Takes Over Rolling In Green And Trellis

Cannabis-oriented compliance technology provider, Akerna KERN signed two deals this week, at a time when companies are cutting back on merger and acquisition plans, or finding it difficult to complete deals because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected virtually every industry.

On Thursday, Akerna finalized an agreement with a pre-roll cannabis automation company, Rolling in Green.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Akerna will utilize its strategic agreement with Net Suite to assist the company with inventory, financial tracking and CRM systems management.

“We selected Akerna’s MJ Platform solution because of its seamless integration with NetSuite,” Darren Vargo, CEO, Rolling in Green, said in a statement. “As a growing business, we recognize using multiple providers to meet our backend business operations can cause chaos and lead to wasteful business silos. With the MJ Platform we do not have to worry about operational disruptions. We have everything we need in one, easy to use solution.”

Rolling in Green will rely on novel technology to enable product ordering and tracking for pre-rolls.

On Wednesday, Akerna acquired compliance software company Trellis for $2 million. The all-stock deal was priced at the 30-day volume-weighted average price. 

The transaction is expected to close this week.

Trellis is a company that designs cannabis inventory management software in order to provide easier functioning and allow cannabis companies to grow their businesses, making sure they are following regulatory compliance.

The company’s platform offers various tools and analytics to growers, producers and distributors, operating in legal markets.

“Trellis has built a great product that has attracted an impressive list of well-known California operators,” Akerna CEO Jessica Billingsley said in a statement.  “We’re excited to be able to plug Trellis into our compliance bus, leverage our infrastructure, and profitably take Trellis into new markets where Akerna has an established presence. Trellis is an ideal fit for Akerna and delivers immediate accretive value to our shareholders.”

This is seen as an important strategic move for Akerna, which will help the company establish itself as the scaled tech provider in the cannabis industry.

Akerna’s shares closed Wednesday’s market session 11.81% higher at $7.10 per share.

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Photo courtesy of Akerna