Jushi closes $63 million Pennsylvania medical marijuana deal

Jushi, a Florida-based marijuana company, closed an agreement to acquire Pennsylvania-based Franklin Bioscience in a $63 million deal.

The purchase price for Franklin, which holds licenses for up to 12 medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania, is a combination of cash, debt and stock.

Jushi entered into various acquisition agreements since it started trading on Canada’s NEO exchange under the ticker symbol JUSH on June 10.

The purchase agreements include an adult-use dispensary in San Diego, The Healing Center, as well as a Virginia-based processing company, Dalitso.

Jushi CEO Erich Mauff told Marijuana Business Daily the company is focusing on distressed assets to expand its footprint.

It is looking at states where licenses are hard to achieve, including California, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Ohio, he added.

“We would have liked to stay private longer, but it was always part of our game to go public,” Mauff said.

“We could not have got regulatory approval in Pennsylvania by staying private.”

More details on Jushi’s acquisition are available here.