Chicago Marijuana Company Cresco Labs Raises $100 Million To Fuel Growth
2018
Chicago-based medical marijuana company Cresco Labs has raised $100 million in private funding to fuel continued expansion nationally and in Illinois.
Cresco Labs, which operates three cultivation centers in the state, just finished an expansion of its Joliet facility to more than double the amount of cannabis it can grow and process. The company has additional acreage available and is planning further expansions.
After years of regulatory roadblocks and lower-than-expected demand in Illinois’ medical cannabis pilot program, growers around the state are expanding to accommodate a patient count that is only expected to increase. A state report out earlier this week found that use of medical pot has risen 83 percent this year in Illinois, which has more than 46,000 qualified patients. Additionally, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law in late August that allows people prescribed opioids to use medical marijuana.
With this infusion of capital, Cresco also plans to increase its national footprint, CEO and co-founder Charlie Bachtell. The company has licenses to operate in Pennsylvania and Ohio and has acquired dispensary and cultivation operations in Arizona, Nevada and California.
Cresco employs about 300 people, more than half of whom are in Illinois. Bachtell said the company plans to hire more workers at its River North corporate headquarters.
“The needs that are placed on a company like Cresco are pretty significant, so we need to make sure we’ve got the resources in place to continue to be able to scale the company,” he said.
The private round of funding came from U.S. and international investors. The company also intends to complete a reverse takeover of a public Canadian company, following a similar move by fellow Chicago-based cannabis company Green Thumb Industries, or GTI.
GTI raised $67 million through its listing on a Canadian stock exchange in June. The company raised an additional $61.6 million in a financing deal that closed earlier this month, and it also is working to scale up its operations in Illinois. The company’s debut on the Canadian Securities Exchange helped cement investors’ interest in the industry.
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