Lowered valuations for cannabis companies are leading to a shift in the way capital is raised and merger and acquisition activity is occurring in the cannabis space. In this context, cannabis investors can leverage their understanding of M&A to anticipate corporate strategic moves and profit.
Fortunately, at the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Sept. 13-14 in Chicago, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the important executives of the industry, including Scott Greiper, president and founder of Viridian Capital Advisors, the first investment bank in the cannabis space.
What Does Viridian Do? Founded in June 2014, when only six states were legalized, Viridian raises capital, executes M&A transactions, provides corporate restructuring and performs sophisticated financial modeling.
Since then, the New York financial and strategic advisory firm has become the leading corporate finance and M&A practice in the legal cannabis industry, representing companies, investors, sellers, and acquirers.
“Around $400 million [was] raised that first year, [and] in the first nine months this year, $8.5 billion,” Greiper told attendees at Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in 2021. “It’s never been better,” he added.
Cannabis Deal Tracker Database Helps Investors: Greiper knows what he is talking about. Viridian has collected and aggregated the world's largest database of cannabis deals. The Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker is a proprietary information service that monitors capital raise and M&A activity in the legal cannabis and hemp industry. Each week the tracker aggregate and analyzes all closed deals and segments each according to key metrics.
“Why does it matter? Because when you were an investor in this space or we're advising you, we're going to tell you where the best value is, where the best way to invest is whether it's cultivation or biotech or software. And we're going to tell you the right structure for your investment,” Greiper told Dan Humiston in an exclusive interview.
“It is by far the world's largest database of cannabis deals, and it gives us incredible market intelligence and an edge, when we're representing investors looking to invest in really gives us a deep dive into best companies, best valuations, and structure for investors.”
What's Next?: Join Benzinga in Chicago and meet Greiper in person. He will provide an overview of Viridian’s overall operations and its ongoing strategy.
The world’s largest and most successful cannabis investing and finance event is on Sept. 13-14 at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Get your tickets HERE.
Photo: Ilona Szentivanyi
