Saul Ewing Cannabis Law Practice Closes $520+ Million in Transactions in Two Months

Published

In just two months, from mid-November 2020 to mid-January 2021, Saul Ewing LLP's Cannabis Law Practice assisted clients in closing transactions with a combined deal value of more than $520 million. We served as:

  • U.S. counsel to Canaccord Genuity Corp., lead underwriter of an overnight marketed offering of subordinate voting shares of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF), a leading U.S. provider of consumer products in cannabis. Canaccord acted on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, including Beacon Securities Limited, Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corp., Cormark Securities Inc., Eight Capital and Haywood Securities Inc. Total gross proceeds of the offering were C $316,882,500 (approximately US $250.6 million).

Team members: Adam Fayne, Jonathan Havens, Justin Ettelson, Lauren Farruggia, Alex Ferraro, Guzel Sadykova, and Christian Kaiser

 

  • Corporate and regulatory counsel to TerrAscend Corp. (CSE: TER) (OTCQX: TRSSF), a leading North American cannabis operator, related to the company entering into a US $120 million senior secured term loan with a syndicate of lenders. The loan was solely secured by the company's Pennsylvania-based Ilera Healthcare Division. Subject to certain conditions of the loan agreement, TerrAscend has the ability to increase the facility by up to US $30 million.

Team members: Adam Fayne, Jonathan Havens, and Chad Williams

 

  • U.S. counsel to Canaccord Genuity Corp., lead underwriter of a bought deal offering of common shares of Columbia Care Inc. (NEO: CCHW) (CSE: CCHW) (OTCQX: CCHWF) (FSE: 3LP), one of the largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers, and providers of medical- and adult-use cannabis products and related services. Canaccord, as sole book-runner, and ATB Capital Markets Inc. acted as co-lead ‎underwriters of the offering, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, including Beacon Securities Limited, Eight Capital, Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., ‎Paradigm Capital Inc. and PI Financial Corp. Alliance Global Partners acted as financial advisor to the syndicate. Total gross proceeds of the offering were C $149,508,625 (approximately US $118.2 million).

Team members: Adam Fayne, Jonathan Havens, Justin Ettelson, Jay Rosen, and Andrew Barris

 

  • Corporate and regulatory counsel to Arise Biosciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of TerrAscend Corp. (CSE: TER) (OTCQX: TRSSF), a leading North American cannabis operator, related to Arise entering into a loan financing arrangement with Canopy Growth Corporation in the amount of US $20 million pursuant to a secured debenture.

Team members: Adam Fayne, Jonathan Havens, Rick Carroll, and Richard Leigh

 

  • U.S. counsel to 4Front Ventures, Inc. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF), a leading national multi-state cannabis operator and retailer, in its bought deal prospectus offering of units of the company for aggregate gross proceeds of C $17,251,150 (approximately US $13.6 million). The offering was conducted by a syndicate of underwriters led by Beacon Securities Limited and included Canaccord Genuity and Haywood Securities, Inc.

Team members: Adam Fayne, Jonathan Havens, Michael Gold, and Christian Kaiser

Jonathan Havens, partner (Baltimore and Washington, D.C.) and co-chair of the Firm's Cannabis Law Practice, remarks, "Despite the significant challenges that COVID-19 presented and continues to present, we saw a major uptick in cannabis-related transactions throughout 2020 and into 2021. Given market tailwinds spurred by the prospect of federal cannabis policy reform, we expect the flurry of deal activity to continue for the foreseeable future."

Adam Fayne, partner (Chicago) and co-chair of the Firm's Cannabis Law Practice, commends the Saul Ewing teams on each of these matters. "After a long and stressful 2020, our incredible team – with attorneys hailing from eight of our 16 offices – poured their hearts and talents into these transactions, helping our clients achieve fantastic results. The sky is the limit for our practice in 2021."

For more information, please contact:

Adam Fayne

Partner, Chicago

(312) 876-7883

Adam.Fayne@saul.com

 

Jonathan A. Havens
Partner, Baltimore / Washington, D.C.

(410) 332-8757

Jonathan.Havens@saul.com

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Per federal law, marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance. This means that it is a federal crime to sell, distribute, possess, and/or use marijuana or marijuana-derived products, regardless of any state law that may authorize certain marijuana activity. Although federal policy may, at times, recommend enforcement discretion when a business or individual is in compliance with state marijuana law that is deemed to comply with federal enforcement priorities, it is important to understand that compliance with state law does not equal compliance with federal law, and that federal marijuana policy may change at any time. No legal advice we give regarding marijuana law or policy is ever intended to guide or assist clients in violating federal law.

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