Columbia Care Strengthens Its Position In Ohio Via Acquisition Of Four Dispensaries Run By CannAscend

Columbia Care Inc. CCHW CCHW (OTCQX: CCHWF) confirmed Friday it has completed the purchase of Ohio-based CannaAcend, acquiring four dispensaries located in Logan, Marietta, Dayton and Monroe.

The move comes on the heels of the company’s $74.5 million raise, via a private placement offering of 6% secured convertible notes.

Why It Is Important 

Through this acquisition, the New York-headquartered company will become one of the most scaled operators in the Buckeye State.

The four dispensaries are an addition to the three facilities Columbia Care already has in Mt.Orab, Columbus and Warren, significantly improving its vertically integrated operations in Ohio.

“Ohio is a key state, currently a top-five market for Columbia Care, with year-to-date state sales up more than 110 percent year-over-year and annualized runrate sales of more than $370 million for 2021,” said Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care. “We are thrilled to be able to affirm our leadership presence in Ohio with the completion of this acquisition.”

Vita said it has been great working with the CannAscend team over the last couple of years.

“Combining CannAscend’s footprint with our state-of-the-art cultivation and production facilities and existing dispensary will have an immediate positive financial impact, and we look forward to continuing on the growth trajectory as one company. We are honored to directly serve the medical cannabis community in Ohio, which has grown to more than 200,000 registered patients,” Vita added.

The Deal Details 

The purchase agreement was first announced three years ago, under which Columbia Care acquired an exclusive option to buy dispensaries on the first anniversary of the date when all four received their operation certificates from the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program.

All four dispensaries obtained these certificates during the fourth quarter of 2019. The balance of the total acquisition price of $14.2 million is set to be compensated using funds held in escrow, meaning it will not affect Columbia Care’s current cash position.

Starting July 1, the company began consolidating CannAscend and will no longer file combined and reported financial results.

Price Action 

Columbia Care’s shares were trading 1.79% lower at $4.67 per share at the time of writing.

Photo by Ryan Lange on Unsplash