Diddy to Acquire Cannabis Assets from Cresco, Columbia

American rapper and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs has agreed to purchase multiple cannabis dispensaries and production facilities in New York, Illinois and Massachusetts from Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs and New York-based Columbia Care, which announced a $2 billion merger agreement back in March.

The $185 million deal with Combs will include Cresco and Columbia Care’s planned divestiture of assets of nine dispensaries and three production facilities in the three states to create a minority-owned, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator, according to a news release. That means Combs will own multiple stages of his company’s production process rather than external suppliers.

ATB Financial is acting as financial advisor to Columbia Care on the divestiture process and on behalf of Combs Enterprises with regards to certain financing mandates. This transaction is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2023.

"My mission has always been to create opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in industries where we've traditionally been denied access, and this acquisition provides the immediate scale and impact needed to create a more equitable future in cannabis," said Combs, chairman and CEO of Combs Enterprises, in the release.

If approved by U.S. and state regulators, the deal could create one of the nation's largest Black-owned and licensed cannabis companies. 

Cresco Labs' portfolio of brands includes Mindy’s Edibles, Good News, Remedi, High Supply, FloraCal Farms and Sunnyside, the company’s national dispensary brand.

Columbia Care operates 131 facilities including 99 dispensaries and 32 cultivation and manufacturing facilities, including some under development. Its brands include Seed & Strain, Triple Seven, gLeaf, Classix, Press, Amber and Platinum Label CBD.