The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for Monday, December 16, 2024.

On the Site

Kentucky governor defends out-of-state dominance during medical cannabis licensing lottery

Regulators selected 12 retail operators from more than 1,200 applications for the Louisville and Lexington regions.

Read more here.

MJ Freeway hit with $4.2M verdict in Pennsylvania contract dispute

The court sided with a Black-owned IT company that claimed MJ Freeway exploited its minority status to win a state deal.

Read more here.

Massachusetts Revolutionary Clinics goes into receivership owing almost $10 million

Lenders have been trying to help the struggling Rev Clinics for the past two years.

Read more here.

Graft Polymer to buy Awakn Life Sciences in all stock deal

Graft and Awakn share a CEO and had begun collaborating earlier this year.

Read more here.

Agrify completes acquisition of hemp drink brand Señorita

New leadership under GTI CEO Ben Kovler is looking at beverage market expansion across the country.

Read more here.

In Other News

Garden Society Cannabis

Garden Society Cannabis workers voted overwhelmingly to become the first cannabis workers in New Jersey to join Teamsters Local 469. The 40 newest members of the union cook and manufacture cannabis products.

Read more here.

Housing Works Cannabis Co.

Housing Works Cannabis Co. opened its second dispensary today in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan. HWCC NoMad is partnering with Housing Works, a legacy NYC-based nonprofit.

Read more here.

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for Thursday, November 21, 2024.

On the Site

Cannabis stocks up briefly Thursday before plunging on Gaetz withdrawal

The potential appointment of a pro-cannabis attorney general had boosted sentiment among cannabis investors.

Read more here.

Agrify gets $26M lifeline as GTI’s Kovler eyes extraction, hemp biz

Kovler has previously cited the GTI’s interest in Agrify’s extraction division.

Read more here.

Ayurcann terminates SPAC deal, citing regulatory filing failures

Arogo also initiated its own claim that the deal had been terminated, demanding the same $250,000 fee.

Read more here.

Earnings:

In Other News

Kentucky

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that patients can start seeing doctors to get their written certifications for cannabis cards on Dec. 1.

Read more here.

Slang Worldwide

Highline Financial Group LLC has been named as the receiver of the assets, undertakings and property of certain Colorado subsidiaries of Slang Worldwide. The company also received a conditional extension of its waiver and support agreement.

Read more here.

Lifeist Wellness

Lifeist Wellness named Andrea Judge as chief executive officer, effective immediately. Judge has served as CEO of Lifeist’s subsidiary Mikra Cellular Sciences since July.

Read more here.

Cash-strapped Agrify Corp. (Nasdaq: AGFY) raised $25.9 million in a private stock sale, as Green Thumb Industries (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF) continues to scale the company lately.

The Michigan-based firm, which also typically makes vertical grow equipment and extraction systems, sold shares at $22.30 each and issued warrants to buy nearly 950,000 additional shares for $0.0001 apiece, according to a news release and regulatory filings Thursday. The fundraising comes after Agrify reported just $263,000 in cash remaining at the end of September and has accumulated $265 million in losses.

Ben Kovler, who recently became interim CEO after his company GTI took control through a $20 million convertible note deal earlier this month, purchased 10,000 shares at $38.76 to meet Nasdaq requirements.

“This funding is a strong move for Agrify,” Kovler said in a statement. “We plan to allocate this capital into opportunities within our circle of competence to benefit stockholders.”

Agrify lost $18.7 million in the third quarter and has accumulated $265 million in losses, GMR previously reported. The company plans to acquire hemp drink maker Señorita for $4.9 million in stock by year-end as it shifts away from cannabis cultivation equipment.

Investors in the private placement will receive warrants if their ownership would exceed 4.99% post-offering. Agrify must register the shares for resale within 45 days of investor demand.

The deal is expected to close Nov. 21. Blank Rome LLP provided legal counsel.

Working on Agrify

On GTI’s November earnings call, Kovler cited the MSOs interest in Agrify’s extraction division.

“We like the extraction business with Precision. It’s done a great job,” he told analysts, noting that “the high-end dab game is a real segment in this market that has pricing power among a very, very loyal consumer base.”

“And so, if you think about scaling that business and what you would do, it might make sense to be a little smarter or closer to various pieces of it.”

When asked directly about GTI’s interest in Agrify’s technology, Kovler said the “fork in the road is extraction and cultivation,” suggesting GTI may be most interested in the extraction side. He stuck to GTI’s Buffett-inspired investment approach, saying “what is smart at one price is dumb at another,” while framing GTI as “opportunistic investors at the core.”

Asked about speculation that investments like Agrify could provide alternative paths to major exchanges, Kovler remained circumspect, saying only that GTI “gets paid for capital allocation and how those returns manifest.”