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‘World’s largest cannabis company’ created as Curaleaf acquires Grassroots

Grassroots operates five dispensaries in Pennsylvania under the Herbology brand, and Curaleaf has a grow and dispensaries in New Jersey.

Curaleaf dispensary associate Deja Mack assists a customer in the Curaleaf dispensary in Bellmawr, NJ on May 24, 2018. New Jersey's newest medical marijuana dispensary, which opened this month in Bellmawr, Camden County, is the largest on the east coast.
Curaleaf dispensary associate Deja Mack assists a customer in the Curaleaf dispensary in Bellmawr, NJ on May 24, 2018. New Jersey's newest medical marijuana dispensary, which opened this month in Bellmawr, Camden County, is the largest on the east coast.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
    by Sam Wood
    Published 

It’s being billed as the birth of the “World’s Largest Cannabis Company.”

Curaleaf Holdings, a marijuana company based in Massachusetts, announced Wednesday that it was acquiring Chicago-based GR Companies. The cash-and-stock deal has been valued at $875 million.

The transaction, if approved by regulators in all states where either company has presence, would greatly expand Curaleaf’s footprint from 12 to 19 states.

Curaleaf already has a sizable presence in New Jersey where it operates one of the busiest dispensaries on the East Coast in Bellmawr, Camden County. Curaleaf claims to grow 40 percent of the legal marijuana distributed in the Garden State.

GR Companies, a multi-state operator, is better known as Grassroots and operates five marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania under the Herbology brand. Grassroots’ portfolio also includes cannabis growhouses and dispensaries in Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont, among others.

The deal marks the second gargantuan rollup for Curaleaf. In early May, the company announced it was buying Oregon-based Cura Partners for $949 million.

Curaleaf Holdings shares (CURLF) was up more than 17 percent on Nasdaq stock exchange.

For more news about cannabis and medical marijuana, visit Inquirer.com/cannabis