Investors stopped writing checks in 2019 because many cannabis companies were spending vast amounts of money to gain market share but failed to show a profit. That caused their stock prices to crater.
Three large SPAC initial public offerings have fueled the upswing in the cannabis industry in the first three months of this year, according to Viridian:
- Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. II, $250 million. The SPAC is headed by Scott Gordon, who also was CEO of the first Silver Spike SPAC, which merged with cannabis tech firm Weedmaps in December 2020.
- Tuatara Capital Acquisition, $175 million. The SPAC is backed by the New York-based private equity firm Tuatara Capital, which has a portfolio of cannabis investments. The SPAC’s management team includes Al Foreman, CEO; Mark Zittman, chief operating officer; and Sergey Sherman, chief financial officer.
- Choice Consolidation Corp., $150 million. Choice is led by Joe Caltabiano, co-founder and former president of Cresco Labs. Peter Kadens, former CEO of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, is listed as Choice’s lead director.