Ottawa’s Origin House to be acquired by Cresco Labs for $1.1bn

The Ottawa-headquartered cannabis distribution firm, Origin House, will be acquired by the Chicago-based company, Cresco Labs.

The companies have entered into a definitive agreement in which Cresco will acquire all of Origin’s shares.

The deal, which has been valued at CA$1.1bn (US$824mn), will the US cannabis firm pay CA$12.68 (US$9.50) per share.

“The acquisition of Origin House is another example of our focused and disciplined approach to creating a meaningful presence in key cannabis markets through excellence in brand development and distribution,” commented Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs CEO and Co-founder.

“It’s an incredible platform for Cresco in California and the distribution infrastructure will provide a valuable framework to leverage as we scale our platforms in other states. Congratulations to Marc and the team at Origin House – through strategic M&A and purposeful investments, they’ve built something very special.”

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The agreement has been marked as the largest-ever public company acquisition in the US’s cannabis industry.

“From an Origin House perspective, this transaction is directly aligned with our strategy to build a leading portfolio of cannabis brands in California and to rapidly and accretively take those brands to the rest of the U.S. market, as well as the Canadian market,” Marc Lustig, Chairman and CEO of Origin House.

“By partnering with one of the largest and most innovative U.S. multi-state operators in existence today, Origin House will supercharge its growth and be in a position to offer its brand partners access to 10 additional states, with licenses and supporting infrastructure already in place.”

“Cresco shares Origin House’s resolute focus on the customer as the catalyst for all brand and business development efforts. This Transaction is not the first opportunity we have reviewed, but it has received the unanimous support of our board and large shareholders because we are confident that together we will be in a position to truly change the face of the global cannabis industry while continuing to create significant value for the shareholders of both companies.”