LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertical Companies™ announced the closing of its Series A Financing Round at $58 million. Vertical upsized the original $20 million Series A to $35 million late last year due to investor demand. The round formally closed on March 31, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $65 million since inception.
This capital is being used to build out Vertical’s large scale multi-state infrastructure and bring its brands to market.
Vertical Companies include:
- Vertical MSO™, among the leading multi-state operators in the medical and adult-use cannabis industry with more than 1,906,400 sq. ft. of cultivation expected in 2019 and large-scale extraction and multi-form factor manufacturing operations.
- V Brands Management™, which possesses one the largest brand IP portfolios in the cannabis space.
- Vertical Distribution™, a full-service sales and distribution company with distribution operations in Oakland, Los Angeles, Needles, and adding additional operations to give statewide CA coverage in 2019.
- Vertical Wellness, one of the leading vertically-integrated hemp-based CBD operators and brand companies, with over 2,000 acres of hemp contracted in 2019 and large-scale extraction and multi-form factor manufacturing. As planned, Vertical Wellness, which includes all of Vertical’s hemp-based cannabidiol (“CBD”) assets will be spun off to shareholders of record as of April 1. This announcement comes on the heels of the recent passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp throughout the US.
Key investors include leading cannabis industry private equity fund Merida Capital Partners and numerous global business leaders, including significant players in the alcohol distribution and brand space.
Smoke Wallin, Vertical Companies President and Vertical Wellness CEO, said, “Although early on we thought we might get broader institutional support based on their interest, the federal prohibition kept those funds out of our reach. In spite of those challenges, it is terrific that we have such broad-based investor support from the Merida team as well as high-net-worth individuals and family offices. Closing out at $58m with such investor momentum helps propel the company forward as we scale our commercial operations with a keen focus on execution.”
Mitch Baruchowitz, Managing Partner and founder of Merida Capital Partners, stated: “Backing the Vertical team is another example of how we are actively leveraging our deep relationships in the cannabis space to make high-impact investments that deliver value to investors. With its focus on supply chain excellence, and the executive team to drive a bold vision in both health and wellness and plant-based medicine, Vertical is in a sweet spot to achieve scale far beyond most industry operators."
Todd Kaplan, Vertical Companies founder and CEO, added, “I set out to build something special with Vertical more than five years ago by investing early in anticipation of the eventual legalization of cannabis. This financing announcement marks a giant step closer to our goal of building the best-run cannabis business in the industry. I want to thank all our investors and partners, our team, and everyone who helped get us to this point.”
About Vertical™
Vertical is the leading vertically-integrated multi-state operator and brand and distribution company in the medical and adult-use cannabis and Hemp-based CBD industries. With have operations in AZ, KY, and CA, combined with strategic partnerships in OH and additional markets which position it well to take advantage of the legalization and normalization of cannabis globally. Vertical is led by an executive team of entrepreneurs and business leaders from the alcohol beverage, agriculture, CPG, distribution, entertainment, food, healthcare, and medical industries.