Hip-hop artist and businessman Sean “Diddy” Combs has agreed to acquire licensed marijuana operations in a deal worth up to $185M, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The new business venture controlled by Combs will buy cannabis operations from Cresco Labs and Columbia Care, which have agreed to divest assets in several states ahead of their planned merger.
“My mission has always been to create opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in industries where we’ve traditionally been denied access, and this acquisition provides the immediate scale and impact needed to create a more equitable future in cannabis,” said Combs in a press release.
This would be the latest venture by the hip hop mogul, who also has business interests in fashion, media, and spirits.
According to the deal, the new company will buy nine retail stores and three production facilities in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois for $110M in cash and $45M in debt financing. The assets give Combs the ability to manufacture branded cannabis products and distribute to dispensaries in major metropolitan areas like New York City, Boston and Chicago.
In early October, President Joe Biden ordered U.S. regulators to review how marijuana is classified.
“For Cresco, the transaction is a major step towards closing the Columbia Care acquisition and our leadership position in one of the largest consumer products categories of the future,” said Charles Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs.
