MEDMEN FOUNDERS OUT; IS ACREAGE OK?
Stormy seas ahead
MedMen co-founders Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin departed the beleaguered company’s board of directors.
The company also announced the settlement of lawsuits alleging they ran the company “like a ‘Wolf of Wall Street‘-inspired personal slush fund.” (MedMen didn’t acknowledged wrongdoing.)
In a harsh piece for Forbes, longtime cannabis journo Chris Roberts writes:
“All that’s left is the fight over the scraps, MedMen’s desiccated and then charred hulk—and identifying both the villain and the moral of this cautionary tale.
“The analysis is not something most cannabis companies and cannabis investors will want to hear. The hubris that both floated and sank MedMen runs absolutely rampant in legal weed.
“MedMen was the first, the loudest, the brashest and the most ridiculous, but it won’t be the last. There are too many other companies built in its mold.”
Plus, Virginia denied MedMen’s request to open a MED shop.
News-Leader
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Separately, MSO Acreage Holdings is dealing with some tricky situations of its own:
- An unidentified institutional investor issued the company a $15M short term loan at a 60% annual interest rate.
MJBiz - Acreage put up collateral of its facilities in three states as well as its IP “among other items.” If the company defaults it’ll be on the hook for another $6M.
Press release - Ex-Massachusetts Governor and former Acreage board member Bill Weld (R) is suing the company. He alleges it improperly downgraded his stock holdings from 625,000 shares to just over 360,000. Acreage declined to comment to Bloomberg.
- Acreage’s sister company Wellness Connection of Maine is suing the city of Portland alleging its residency preference for licensees violates the U.S. Constitution.
MJBiz - A report recently noted Acreage CEO Kevin Murphy is the third highest paid cannabis CEO, with annual pay exceeding $10M.
The Growth Op - Here’s WeedWeek‘s interview with Murphy from a year ago.
