MedMen, a California-based cannabis consulting and management firm, is acquiring New York licensed producer Bloomfield Industries, according to a Politico report. Bloomfield is one of just five companies allowed to cultivate, process, and dispense medical cannabis under the state’s limited medical cannabis program.
MedMen, who has a $100 million venture capital arm, is partnered with Wicklow Capital – the primary investor for another of the state’s five licensees, PharmaCann.
According to the report, Bloomfield had been experiencing “financial constraints” for at least six months; forced to miss vendor payments and entertain offers from investors. The company will continue to operate as “Bloomfield Industries” for the remainder of its initial two-year agreement.
Medical cannabis license transfers are not allowed under the Compassionate Care Act; however changes in ownership are permitted subject to Department of Health approval. Bloomfield is licensed to operate in New York City and grows its crop in Long Island City. They were selected to operate a dispensary in Manhattan but were never able to get it up and running.
Licensed companies in the state have long maintained that there is not enough demand due to the program’s regulatory restraints. In August, PharmaCann estimated it would be at least another 18 months before New York operators saw profitability. At that time, Etain Health and Vireo Health indicated they were in the red and Bloomfield did not return requests for comment.
Ari Hoffnung, CEO for Vireo said that Bloomfield “is a reminder” that New York’s operators “are dealing with a micro-market for medical marijuana.”
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