MJBizMag May-June 2023 - 14

COMPANY NEWS U.S. & International by MJBizDaily Staff
U.S. DEVELOPMENTS
Charlotte's Web, BAT
Division Seek FDA Approval
Colorado-based CBD and hemp
company Charlotte's Web
Holdings and AJNA BioSciences
PBC, a British American Tobacco
(BAT) subsidiary, are teaming
up to seek U.S. Food and Drug
Administration approval for a drug
containing hemp.
AJNA, a Littleton, Colorado-based
company that makes botanical
drugs for mental health and neurological
disorders, was co-founded
by Joel Stanley, a former CEO and
board chair of Charlotte's Web.
The joint venture will file an
Investigational New Drug (IND)
application with the FDA and
begin Phase 1 clinical development
this year. The drug will contain
Charlotte's Web hemp genetics,
and AJNA will contribute its lab
and regulatory services and clinical
expertise.
A $10 million investment gives
BAT a 20% equity interest in the
form of preferred units, and the
London-based company can participate
in future equity issuances to
maintain its position.
ANJA and Boulder, Colorado-based
Charlotte's Web each
possess 40% of the joint venture's
voting common units.
Sweet Leaf Madison Capital
Closes $100M Debt Facility
Marijuana industry finance
company Sweet Leaf Madison
Capital (SLMC) closed a $100
million debt facility, which could be
increased to $200 million.
SLMC said the funding came from
an unspecified " New York-based
global institutional special situations
asset manager. " SLMC provides assetbased
loans " to the underserved middle-market
of the cannabis industry. "
12 May-June 2023 | MJBizMagazine
NBA to Change Rules
About Players, Cannabis
A groundbreaking bargaining
agreement between the National
Basketball Association and
its players association would
allow players to invest in and
promote cannabis companies.
The tentative deal, which must be
ratified by the union and team governors,
would also allow players to
consume marijuana, given that the
substance would be removed from
the league's drug-testing program.
Chicago Cubs Get MLB's
First CBD Sponsorship
Mynd Drinks
signed a deal with
the Chicago Cubs
to become the
team's official CBD
partner.
It's the first sponsorship
of its kind
for an individual
Major League Baseball club, according
to the MLB.
Under the deal, the Chicago-based
wellness and beverage brand will have
several activations within Wrigley
Field, including baseline signage,
in-game features and, in another first
for the Cubs, international marketing
rights in the United Kingdom for the
2023 regular season.
SHF Holdings Resolves
$64.7 Million Debt
Colorado-based marijuana finance
company SHF Holdings, which
does business as Safe Harbor
Financial, agreed to settle its
$64.7 million debt with Partner
Colorado Credit Union (PCCU).
Under the agreement, SHF
Holdings will resolve the debt in
exchange for a five-year,
$14.5 million senior secured note
with a 4.25% interest rate as well as
11.2 million Class A common stock
shares of the company.
PCCU was Safe Harbor's parent
company before Safe Harbor went
public on the Nasdaq through
a special purpose acquisition
company last fall; Safe Harbor owed
PCCU the funds as part of that deal.
Leafly Lays Off 40,
Turns to Consumer Content
Seattle-based cannabis e-commerce
site Leafly Holdings
is pivoting away
from reporting on the
marijuana industry
and will instead focus
exclusively on providing consumeroriented
content such as product
information.
The pivot comes two weeks after
the company laid off 40 employees,
or 21% of its workforce, in conjunction
with reporting its full-year and
fourth-quarter financial results.
The job cuts came as Leafly
reported $47.4 million in revenue
for 2022, a 10% increase from 2021,
according to a company news release.
Operating costs, however, climbed
more than 40% last year, although
Leafly did manage to turn a profit of
more than $5 million in 2022.
Lawsuit Targets TPCO
A lawsuit accuses Jay-Z's
Monogram marijuana brand of
illegally shipping products over
state lines and its parent company,
California-based TPCO Holding
Corp., of gender discrimination and
filing erroneous financial reports.
The lawsuit was filed by a former
TPCO vice president, Cathi Clay, on
Feb. 16, alleging that company executives
were " aggressive, demeaning
and made many inappropriate
comments about women. "
https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-chicago-cubs-announce-mynd-drinks-as-official-cbc-partner https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-chicago-cubs-announce-mynd-drinks-as-official-cbc-partner
MJBizMag May-June 2023

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