NEW YORK — Merida Capital Partners (Merida), a private equity fund targeting fundamental growth drivers underpinning the rapid development of the cannabis industry, announced it has crossed $50MM in assets under management (AUM) and closed transactions in nine companies in its second Fund. With the full deployment of Merida’s first tranche of Fund II and the opening of the firm’s second investment tranche, Merida Fund II will continue its focus on high-conviction investments in leading companies that have crossed the ‘fragmentation gap’ yet need strategic capital to profoundly accelerate their respective growth curves. Merida will also focus on businesses implementing capex-lite models in the traditionally capital-intensive verticals of cultivation, dispensing, and life sciences.
“Merida continues to see an acceleration of institutional interest in our core strategy,” said Mitch Baruchowitz, Managing Partner of Merida Capital Partners. “As cannabis evolves as an agricultural product, a natural plant-based medicine, a constituent in medical-grade formulations, and an adult-use consumer product, Merida will capitalize on its data, informational edge, and deep relationships in the cannabis space to make high-impact investments that deliver value to investors.”
“People always talk about taking the ‘right money’ or ‘smart money,’ and Merida has proven to be the epitome of a true value-add investor in the cannabis space,” said CEO of Kush Bottles Nick Kovacevich. “From the first day we accepted their funds they have been involved in directly impacting our strategy and growth at Kush Bottles.”
“Merida has supported us in every way,” Marion Mariathiasan of Simplifya. “The firm has given us the resources we needed to broaden our footprint in providing cultivation and dispensary compliance, which ultimately leads to a more stable cannabis industry ecosystem.”
To date, Merida has closed lead investments in: Kush Bottles (OTCMKTS: KSHB), a leading supplier of cannabis packaging and production logistics; GrowGeneration, an industry leader in commercial equipment sales and large-scale grow support with hydroponic supply locations in CA, CO, MI, RI, NV and WA; New Frontier Data, an independent, technology-driven analytics company specializing in vetted data, actionable business intelligence and risk management solutions for investors and participants in the cannabis industry; Simplifya, a technology company helping businesses of all sizes track cannabis compliance through industry-leading self-audit and reporting tools; Steep Hill Labs, an analytical testing company for licensed cultivators, producers, and manufacturers of cannabis; Canndescent, a California-based cultivator of ultra-premium cannabis; Valley Agriceuticals, one of only 10 New York-state licensed cannabis cultivators and manufacturer of medical-grade medicinal cannabis treatments and herbal medicines; Mainstem, a business-to-business (B2B) solution that consolidates cultivators, manufacturers, retailers and dispensaries into one comprehensive marketplace, connecting buyers directly to sellers via a MainStem Affiliate Partners program; and Emerald Scientific, a B2B leader in cannabis science supplies, equipment, and information.
“Mainstem is extremely excited to have Merida as a lead investor,” said Mainstem CEO Alen Nguyen. “Merida’s portfolio companies, are the perfect complement to our growing selection of diverse marketplace integrations. We believe this partnership will only continue to drive significant value to Mainstem and Merida investors for years to come.”
“Merida’s partnership and support of our vision over the past two years has been amazing” said Giadha DeCarcer, CEO of New Frontier Data. “They have worked tirelessly to support our efforts to bring actionable data and services that lead to a more efficient cannabis industry, and we look forward to continuing that work with their team.”
