The owner of pioneering cannabis magazine High Times said Tuesday it is acquiring 13 operating and planned marijuana retail stores in California for $80 million.
The purchase, which is being made mostly in stock, reflects an aggressive move into retail under the company’s new management team.
Los Angeles-based High Times Holding Corp. is acquiring the stores from Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation, one of the largest multi-state marijuana operators in the country.
Harvest will become a “significant” shareholder in High Times Holding, according to a news release.
The existing retail outlets and planned stores are in Oakland, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and other areas of California, according to a regulatory filing. High Times Holding said it will redesign and rebrand the stores under the High Times logo.
The company is paying $5 million in cash, $7.5 million in the form of a one-year, 10%-interest promissory note and $67.5 million in preferred stock, according to a Harvest news release.