By Ellen Chang
January 29, 2020
This article was originally published in US News . Click here to view the original article.
Cannabis firms are considering an IPO.
The burgeoning marijuana market includes several companies looking to raise capital to expand, acquire businesses and stay ahead of the competition by going public. U.S. and Canadian cannabis companies are anticipating growth in the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana.
Although U.S. federal law prohibits the use of marijuana, medical usage is allowed in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia. “Having access to more capital and being able to use your stock as currency to make acquisitions or investments and grow the business are the main advantages of going public,” says Michael Berger, founder of Technical420, a Miami-based company that researches on pot stocks. Here are five marijuana companies planning an IPO in 2020.
ManifestSeven
ManifestSeven, a Commerce, California-based integrated company that owns dispensaries and six delivery services, plans to go public as soon as the first quarter of 2020. The company has raised $22 million, is completing another fundraising round and does not have any debt.
With that, ManifestSeven will have the infrastructure to expand if marijuana is federally legalized, Berger says. In January, the company acquired Lady Chatterley Health, a San Francisco-based cannabis delivery service focused on high-end women’s products. “We’re making acquisitions and have a strong balance sheet and are three months away from profitability,” CEO Sturges Karban says. “This is the ideal time to go public.”