Verano Upsizes Credit Agreement to US$250 Million at 8.50% With an Additional US$100 Million Option (Yahoo Finance) | Verano announced it has entered into an amendment to its existing credit agreement for additional funding of US$120 million with an 18-month maturity. The amendment brings the total outstanding senior secured term loans under the credit facility to US$250 million. The incremental credit provides non-dilutive funding of US$120 million, at an annual interest rate of 8.50%, with an option for an additional US$100 million term loan at the same non-dilutive rate. Chicago Atlantic Advisors, LLC is the lead administrative agent and collateral agent, with participation from AFC Gamma, Inc. Closing on the foregoing transaction is subject to customary conditions, contingencies, and approvals. This new line of credit reduces the Company’s cost of capital with an improved, non-dilutive 8.50% rate on the upsize, compared to 9.75% on its previous upside announced in May.
Texas says Popular Cannabis Extract, Delta-8, is Illegal, Sending Retailers Scrambling (Texas Tribune) | Three years after federal legislation removed the marijuana extract known as delta-8 THC from the nation's list of controlled substances, Texas health officials have put it on its own list of illegal drugs, sending a shockwave through the growing CBD retail industry across the state and making the substance, essentially, illegal. Christine Perez, who manages the popular Austin CBD store Lazydaze+Coffeeshop, had no idea about the change until she saw the Texas Department of State Health Services notice on the agency’s website on Oct. 15. “I was very confused, as well as a bunch of other companies. It’s like, ‘What is going on?’” Perez said. “I really have no idea why [the state] would try to ban it, or the timing of it. We didn’t hear anything about it from the state.” It was easy to miss. As The Dallas Morning News reported this week, the state health agency placed a notice in the rule change publication, the Texas Register. The notice said delta-8 remained a controlled drug in Texas. Both the federal government and states can differ on what is a controlled substance by keeping separate lists. Still, word failed to get out to CBD stores that anything containing the substance, like candy or tincture oil, would be illegal to sell in Texas.
Marijuana Companies Turn to Training, Sommelier-like Roles to Stem Employee Turnover (Marijuana Business Daily) | The “ganjier,” like a sommelier, is a certified professional trained to guide retail customers to just the right pre-roll or edible and their emergence points to a broader development in the marijuana industry that has roots in mainstream companies: Cannabis employers are opening their eyes to training and onboarding with the hope of positioning employees for long-term success. That evolution comes as cannabis employment has mushroomed, with up to 415,000 full-time workers across the country this year, an increase of about 30% from 20201, according to estimates in the 2021 MJBizFactbook. Despite that growth, employers are discovering that it’s not easy to keep people in some of those jobs. Significant areas of the industry are grappling with high turnover rates, particularly among those who don’t succeed in the first few months of employment. According to a 2020 report from Seattle-based Headset, retail budtenders are especially at risk of leaving a job for another in the industry, or leaving the industry completely. “Most stores suffer from a relatively high rate of turnover, with a select few seeing almost none at all,” the notes. Headset examined turnover data in stores in Washington state and Colorado for the 2019 sales year. The result: “In Washington, 47% of employees stayed, while only 38% did in Colorado.”
Why Mainstream Businesses Are High On The Cannabis Industry (Forbes) | Cannabis cultivators in the mountains of Northern California’s Emerald Triangle, which is the heart of marijuana production in the U.S., are off the grid. But one of the country’s largest propane gas providers, AmeriGas, happily supplies growers with 1,000-gallon containers of propane to fuel their operations. AmeriGas, which is owned by publicly traded parent company UGI Corp., is better known for selling propane tanks for backyard grills. But sales to commercial cannabis cultivators is one of the fastest-growing segments for AmeriGas, says Caleb Boyer, a sales account manager. Pennsylvania-based Clark Associates, one of the largest food-service equipment distributors in the U.S., also sees an opportunity in the legal marijuana industry. Kevin Burg, a senior account manager for the $2.5 billion (annual sales) company, says he has four cannabis customers now, but expects that to triple in the next couple of months. The industry is wide open, says Burg. Cannabis companies don’t have longstanding relationships with equipment companies, so Clark doesn’t need to compete with other distributors, nor do they have to convince cannabis companies to switch suppliers. “They’re flush with cash and buying,” Burg says. “There is tons and tons of opportunity.”
We’re Bengal. We’re an aligned group of people with the good fortune of having immersed ourselves in the emerging cannabis industry. We pride ourselves on intentionally selecting where we place our attention; we’re lucky that way. We aim to roll up our sleeves and be partners, whether as a trusted advisor, capital provider or friend. We feel like we’ve made every mistake and can hopefully help prevent others from the same. Our lessons learned keep us humble and we are balanced by an inner confidence borne from our track record and trusted relationships; we are most grateful for these vibrant connections. We simply like to help and get aligned with great people and great opportunities.
We enjoy feedback from our readers - please reach out to us at info@bengalcap.com with any thoughts on this week's Bengal Bite.
This material is provided for information purposes and is not a recommendation or investment advice. The accuracy and/or completeness of any material included herein is not guaranteed. Entities associated with or managed by Bengal Capital or its principals may maintain positions in, or provide services to, the issuers mentioned herein.
