'New Frontier': Altitude Investment Management Invests In European Cannabis Market

Altitude Investment Management announced its first investment in the European cannabis market Monday, providing $5.5 million to Switzerland-based KannaSwiss AG.

KannaSwiss AG is known as the leading supplier of top-tier CBD isolate products in Europe, the company said.

Earlier this year, Altitude Investment Management formed a new investment company, London-based AIM plc, to explore and utilize opportunities in the European cannabis space. 

"My partners and I have been laser-focused on investing in the legal cannabis industry since 2016. We raised approximately $31 million in our first cannabis vehicle which has been invested in 19 companies across the industry," Roderick Stephan, co-founder and partner at Altitude, said in a statement.

"While the CBD/wellness market is thriving, the medical and legal cannabis markets in Europe are in their infancy. We believe that over the next couple of years, medical cannabis will be generally available across Europe and some countries will also allow recreational consumption."

Why KannaSwiss?

Stephan, formerly of Citadel Investment Group, said Altitude chose KannaSwiss in order to generate high returns with its first partnership. 

“We estimate KannaSwiss AG will increase their CBD isolate and distillate production by over 500% during the next year, which is very promising growth,” he told Benzinga. 

Click here for more information about the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Oct. 22-23 in Chicago.

The fund is interested in leading operators that will benefit from Altitude's institutional experience in the North American market, and KannaSwiss fits the bill, Stephan said. 

"Our capital will be used for brand development, purchasing equipment, sourcing raw materials and more as we help instill best practices throughout the company." 

The new funding will help KannaSwiss materially scale its ethanol extraction operations and to fund extra production capabilities, according to Monday's press release. 

"This significant investment from Altitude will help solidify us as the leading hemp extraction and product company in Europe," Ivan Enderli, co-founder of KannaSwiss, said in a statement. 

New Frontier For Cannabis Investment? 

Stephan said he expects to reach other European countries through KannaSwiss, which exports its products outside of Switzerland. The European market, with a population more than double that of the U.S., is "the new frontier" for cannabis investments, he said. 

“We seek to take advantage of the immature and fragmented European cannabis marketplace by investing across the emerging industry’s supply chain. The goal is to create a portfolio of material ownership percentages in foundational companies and to be actively involved at the board level of these portfolio companies to create value for shareholders.”

Don’t miss out on the top cannabis stories of the day. Click here to sign up for our daily insider newsletter.

Photo courtesy of KannaSwiss.