US (CO): Akerna to acquire Viridian Science

Akerna has signed an agreement to acquire Viridian Sciences.    

The all-stock deal is accretive to revenue and earnings and is expected to contribute positive cash flow. As a result of the acquisition, Viridian's 30+ clients will gain access to Akerna's Compliance Gateway, feature-rich reporting, and the recently launched MJ Retail app. Akerna has partnered with ERP solutions such as SAP and other leading providers for integrated financials & tax planning, offering cannabis operators a solution for each stage of their evolution from startup to multi-state operator -- all while maintaining regulatory compliance through Akerna's Compliance Gateway. The acquisition of Viridian accelerates the deployment of this strategy and establishes Akerna as the only cannabis-compliant SAP Business One offering.

"Cannabis operators are quickly becoming a more sophisticated buyer of technology, demanding ERP solutions that scale with their business and also provide the security of multi-state compliance," commented Akerna Chief Executive Officer Jessica Billingsley. "Industry leaders have chosen Viridian for the reliability of SAP Business One and we are excited to bring additional value to the Business One offering through Akerna's more than 80 integrations and broader compliance solution. As we prepare for a post-legalization landscape, Akerna is focused on strengthening our channel connections with existing ERP providers and firmly solidifying our strategic moat as the only scaled cannabis compliance and technology provider."

Businesses employ ERP solutions to manage their functions in a centralized system, bringing business intelligence and data, compliance and risk management, customer management, human resources, inventory, finance, and supply chain information together. By using ERP products, organizations can save money and improve functionality with one tool.

"Combining with Akerna gives Viridian the ability to accelerate growth in new markets, as we leverage Akerna's extensive compliance and partner integrations, furthering our strategy of creating the best-in-class ERP solution for the cannabis industry," says Grant Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of Viridian Sciences. "We founded Viridian with the goal of becoming the premier SAP Business One cannabis solution and, through this combination with Akerna, we are achieving that goal for our business and our clients."

"Working with Viridian has provided Wana with greater visibility and control over our supply chain, production management, and financial health, and we are excited to see the relationship continue to grow with both Viridian and Akerna," noted Logan Craven, Chief Financial Officer of Wana.  Viridian clients include Wana, Trulieve, iAnthus, Herbl, Canndescent, and many more prominent cannabis operators and brands.

The acquisition is expected to close in April. More details will be covered in Akerna's upcoming earnings call. As a reminder, Akerna has changed its fiscal year-end from June 30 to December 31.