Body and Mind announced a number of developments that fund the Company's near-term projects and facilitate entry into the emerging New Jersey market while also adding long-tenured cannabis experience and strategic insight to its board of directors. Specifically, the Company announces:
- Convertible debenture financing: The Company has closed a convertible debenture financing for gross proceeds of US$3.0 million with funds associated with a strategic investor, Bengal Impact Partners, with additional participation from Mindset Capital, LLC.
- Entry into New Jersey: Simultaneously, the Company is acquiring CraftedPlants NJ, an entity that leases a New Jersey retail location with local cannabis-use approval and is currently working on attaining final state licensure in New Jersey.
- New board member: Josh Rosen, Managing Partner of Bengal Capital, will join the board of the Company upon completion of any regulatory or exchange requirements.
"We are thrilled to have the team at Bengal Capital transition from being a supportive shareholder to a strategic partner," stated Michael Mills, CEO of Body and Mind. "The team at Bengal have a long track record of value creation in the industry, and today's transactions secure the trajectory of the Company's current focus; the successful tenant improvements and start-up of two Body and Mind branded dispensaries in Illinois. The proposed dispensary locations are near major thoroughfares with ample parking in areas we believe are still largely underserved by existing Illinois cannabis retailers. Additionally, through our acquisition of CraftedPlants NJ, we are on a path to establishing a presence in New Jersey with another great location and opportunity for growth. I look forward to Bengal Capital partner Josh Rosen joining our board and the support of the entire Bengal team, and I also want to thank Aaron Edelheit of Mindset Capital for his support and engagement."
Josh Rosen, Managing Partner at Bengal Capital, added, "Bengal takes a long-term value creation approach and has focused on smaller, underappreciated cannabis companies – companies we call 'scrappy operators.' We focus our diligence on operating talent and our ability to help augment value drivers, and we think BaM represents a great combination of capabilities and opportunity. While the market seems to have been focused on limited license portfolios, it has also apparently short-changed companies like BaM, which have solid license portfolios and a demonstrated ability to operate those licenses when markets get competitive. So, we were pleased to have the opportunity to work with Michael and the rest of the BaM team to help enable their Illinois retail activation and New Jersey market entry. We believe these two projects are located in attractive markets, and I look forward to joining BaM's board and supporting its value creation strategy going forward."
For more information:
Body & Mind
bamcannabis.com