June 28, 2016

Full-service, North American legal cannabis management company, MedMen, announced it is launching the $100 million MedMen Opportunity Fund.

With a comprehensive knowledge of the fragmented regulatory nature of the space and a team with a deep reservoir of experience in the licensed cultivation, extraction, production, and retail sale of legal marijuana, MedMen claims the fund will be the first of its kind.

“The cannabis business is very operationally intensive,” said MedMen Chief Strategy Officer, Chris Ganan in a company statement. “There has yet to be a Fund platform that combines proprietary access to diversified investment opportunities coupled with execution capabilities in the same vehicle, until now.”

The fund has partnered with private investment company, Wicklow Capital, in pursuit of diversified investments in supply-constrained, high entry barrier markets. The fund will also own a stake in MedMen’s management company, which will provide resources and oversight of assets as the fund’s captive operating partner.

The legal cannabis industry is showing signs of rapid maturation. State-level legalization of recreational and/or medical marijuana has now spread to 24 U.S. states, with five more states voting this fall on the matter. This adoption is driving the sector to achieve greater recognition as a viable space for investment and growth. The legal marijuana industry is expected to see sales of $6.7 billion this year compared to sales of $5.4 billion last year according to ArcView Market Research, reports Market Watch, and if key states such as California join in legalization, sales could top $25 billion.

One of the most recent indications of the evolution of the legal cannabis space includes the announcement made by tech giant Microsoft and cannabis industry-focused company, KIND Financial that they have entered into a partnership, marking the first entry of a major America corporate entity into the space.

Other cannabis funds launched in the last quarter of 2015 include Sugar Leaf Capital Fund I LLC, launched by cannabis industry consultant, Canna Group Inc. in November of last year. Sugar Leaf, which will have offices in California and Chicago, Illinois, will invest in early-stage, cannabis-related businesses that are generally ancillary to the production or processing of the cannabis plant. Meanwhile Florida-based cannabis-focused investment group, Phyto Partners is in the process of building a $10 million private equity fund.

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Lynda Kiernan