RICHMOND, Va. — Two medical cannabis companies serving Virginia have agreed to merge.
New York-based Columbia Care Inc. plans to acquire Maryland-based Green Leaf Medical LLC for $240 million, the companies announced Tuesday.
"No organization in the industry will be better positioned to serve patients and customers in the mid-Atlantic than Columbia Care," Columbia Care CEO Nicholas Vita in a news release.
Green Leaf secured approval in 2018 from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to be the lone medical cannabis licensee for an area that includes the Richmond region and parts of Southside Virginia, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. It also has operations in Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Columbia Care holds the license for the Hampton Roads region and has a production facility in Portsmouth. In total, the company has licenses in 18 jurisdictions with 107 facilities, including 80 dispensaries and 27 cultivation and manufacturing facilities.
Columbia will pay $240 million, consisting of a cash payment of $45 million with the balance of $195 million in Columbia Care stock, according to the newspaper. The deal is expected to close in the summer.
