January 29 2021,

TOGETHER WITH

JAY-Z’S $10M BET ON EQUITY
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(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

This month, hip hop icon Jay-Z, in partnership with The Parent Company, a California-based portfolio of brands, launched what is probably the biggest and highest profile cannabis equity effort to date: A $10M investment fund which aims to back cannabis businesses owned by people of color.
WeedWeek

  • Start-ups backed by the fund also stand to benefit from The Parent Company’s corporate heft and Jay-Z’s cultural megaphone. (He’s the company’s chief visionary officer.) 
  • I spoke to Michael Auerbach, the SPAC executive who put The Parent Company together, about how the fund will operate, and his goals for it.

"The real exit in this industry, is the end of prohibition."

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Related: Illinois is generating tax revenue from legal sales, but its closely watched social equity program has gone nowhere.
Politico

“CAPITAL IS FLOWING WITH RECKLESS ABANDON”
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When’s the last time, Stephen Miles asked rhetorically, that a consumer packaged goods industry could grow to $80B in annual revenue from scratch? 
WeedWeek

  • Miles, CEO of Chicago-based Sharp Capital Advisors, had some interesting things to say in a recent interview. 
  • We discussed how the smartest operators view the market, why brands aren't (yet) the way to win, and what big MSOs want from Congress this year. 

Hint: It's not full-federal legalization.

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The capital continues to flow. Canada-based TerrAscend, which has operations in several states, raised C$224M (US$175M) with 80% coming from four U.S. institutional investors.  

IN THE NEWS — 1/30/21
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Goings on this week: