Weedmaps, a cannabis review site and software company, announced Thursday that it has agreed to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The deal values the company at $1.5 billion and would be a rare example of a cannabis-related company listing on a U.S. stock exchange, which legally can't list cannabis companies.
Because the company is not "plant-touching," going public was still on the table. The California-based company decided to go the SPAC-route in particular because it offered "a more extended conversation with potential investors," CEO Chris Beals told Cheddar.
Given the stigma that still hangs around cannabis, Beals said this offered a chance to curate investors who appreciated the complex nature of the industry.
"I think we had options that were before us, but the reality is we're a tech and SAAS provider," he said. "We provide this business-in-a-box software in an incredibly complex industry. The regulations are complex in cannabis. The end-market dynamics are complex."