You are reading this week’s edition of New Cannabis Ventures, a weekly magazine we have published since October 2015. The newsletter includes unique insight to help our readers stay ahead of the curve, as well as links to the most important news of the week. We no longer email them like we used to, but post this and all newsletters on our website here.
friends,
There hasn’t been much cannabis news this week, but what we did learn was kind of surprising. Cannabist, which sold one of its Virginia businesses to Verano for $90 million in 2024, announced the sale of its remaining Virginia assets to Curaleaf. Cannabist’s press release disclosed the price, while Curaleaf did not. Cannabist rallied and sold off and is now down 13.9% this week and down 39.9% year to date. The company is extremely difficult, in my opinion, and doesn’t really hold much value for investors given its low market cap and small trading volumes. Creditors are the ones who care.
Curaleaf, on the other hand, rallied on Wednesday after pulling back on Tuesday after announcing a pending $110 million buyout. It’s up 6.9% this week and is set to rise 56.4% in 2025. This is much better than the Global Hemp Stock Index, which is down 11.5% year-to-date at 6.09. MSOS, which carries most of Curaleaf, is down 3.2% in 2025.
I downgraded Curaleaf to Strong Sell at Seeking Alpha in April when it was $0.98 and yesterday it closed at $2.44. I remain very bearish on stocks and today I share an updated outlook. The main problems I see are that the valuation is too high relative to peers, the company has huge debt and MSOS has a lot.
Curaleaf’s rating is high compared to peers
While the current value of 7.8X projected adjusted EBITDA for 2026 may seem low, it is a large premium to its peers;
Curaleaf outperformed the major MSOs in 2025, driving this high relative valuation;
Curaleaf’s balance sheet is poor
The balance sheet is bad and getting worse. Net debt was $436 million at the end of 3Q, but most of the debt is due at the end of 2026, an amount that far outweighs cash. Management said on a conference call that it will replace it soon. That debt is currently realized at 8 percent cost. The company reported a current ratio of 1.5X. but that large debt due in 2026 will become current instead of long-term at the end of Q4 and this ratio will drop to 0.6X. The Virginia purchase would reduce it further.
Of course, the company can roll over the debt, but lenders should consider negative tangible equity as of Q3 of $853.6 million. This includes huge tax liabilities of $759 million. It is possible that the company will get a new loan, but investors should expect the interest rate to be potentially higher than the current 8%. The company may also sell some shares.
MSOS owns a lot of Curaleaf
MSOS controls 74.47 million shares of Curaleaf, its largest position. The Curaleaf has a thin flame compared to its peers and this further reduces it. Curaeaf’s shares are 678 million, so MSOS’s stake is more than 10% of the company’s outstanding subordinated shares, which trade over the counter in the US and on the TSX in Canada. I add the multiple voting shares as well as the RSUs and PSUs and some cash options to get a total stock dilution of 803 million, so MSOS has a 9.3% stake in the company.
If MSOS receives repayments again, it will likely need to sell more Curaleaf. Most investors remember the large number of ETF shares that redeemed in late 2022 and 2023. There were further redemptions in early 2025 and then again in November, when the number of shares fell 2%. Yesterday, shares fell by 0.5% due to another redemption. Despite this decline, the number of shares expanded by 41% in 2025. Curaleaf shares controlled by MSOS are up 54% year over year, compared to 32% for Trulieve and 2% for GTI. Curaleaf now holds the largest position at 26.7%, while Trulieve has 21.6% and Green Thumb Industries has 21.3%.
When MSOS received redemptions in November, it reduced Curaleaf shares it controlled by 2%, and then again yesterday. If the ETF receives more redemptions, it will likely sell more CURLF. This could be a problem if the ETF receives redemptions after bad news regarding 280E taxation emerges, as there are fewer buyers in that scenario.
Conclusion
Curaleaf traded at $0.84 on June 30 and rose to $2.04 on August 8, just ahead of the potential restructuring news. It’s unclear to me why Curaleaf is doing so well compared to its peers and other cannabis stocks. Cannabis stocks have been very volatile. Two that I have not liked at all over the past few years, Canopy Growth and Tilray Brands, have fallen so much and sold off the stock so much that I am now neutral on both. The demise of the 280E, if it happens, would be great for Curaleaf, but there are others that would benefit greatly as well. Investors looking to buy an MSO have better options than Curaleaf, which is quite risky.
Sincerely,
Alan:
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we published last week.
Follow Alan for real-time updates X.com:. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest group of cannabis investors and entrepreneurs LinkedIn:.
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Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
You are reading this week’s edition of New Cannabis Ventures, a weekly magazine we have published since October 2015. The newsletter includes unique insight to help our readers stay ahead of the curve, as well as links to the most important news of the week. We no longer email them like we used to, but post this and all newsletters on our website here.
friends,
Just before Christmas, this newsletter discussed how Vireo Growth is getting pretty big. At the end of January I profiled how Vireo Growth is expanding its business. This week’s newsletters include six articles we’ve run since April 2, and Vireo Growth is central to two of them. Vireo Growth is big and getting bigger, but few people seem to care.
I’m not writing this to tell readers to care. In fact, while I used to include the company on my Focus List at 420 Investor, I no longer do. Earlier this month I wrote an article for my subscribers about why I keep looking at things but not including stocks in my Focus List. Here is the summary.
I watch VREOF because it is now one of the largest MSOs by revenue, but it continues to fall short of joining the Global Hemp Stock Index due to its low trading volumes. Average daily trading volume over the past month was 251,000 shares, which is about $100,000 in daily trading value. This is well below peers. Perhaps more importantly, the current price of $0.45, which is down 26.6% year-to-date, is significantly lower than the price of $0.625 for the last large cap in 2024. Not only are the investors not winning, but VREOF hsa distributed a lot of shares to the sellers and they are also under water.
Maybe Vireo Growth shares will reward their owners, or maybe it will continue to do so. I think hemp stock investors and debt holders should be asking why no one is thinking of this yet. Scotts Miracle-Gro, which has been public since 1992 and has a market cap of $3.6 billion, picked up much of VREOF’s stock when it spun off Hawthorne. The 213 million shares are “at an implied price of $0.60” per share, although VREOF hasn’t traded at $0.60 since January. When the divestiture was announced in late January, Vireo Growth closed at $0.5553.
So a large MSO that has reshuffled its management, is now in multiple markets, and has executed its plan to get bigger with several acquisitions, is still not responding to the cannabis investment community. I wish them the best.
Sincerely,
Alan:
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we have published in the last 2 weeks.
Follow Alan for real-time updates X.com:. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest group of cannabis investors and entrepreneurs LinkedIn:.
Stay on top of the most important communications from public companies by watching what’s coming cannabis investor calendar.
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
Vireo Growth Announces California Retail Joint Venture with Glass House Brands
MINNEAPOLIS and LONG BEACH, Calif., April 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vireo Growth Inc. (“Vireo”) (CSE: VREO; OTCQX: VREOF) and Glass House Brands Inc. (“Glass House”) (CBOE CA: GLAS.AU) (CBOE CA: GLAS.WT.U) (OTCQX: GLASF) (OTCQX: GHBWF) today announced a joint venture to build one of the largest and most strategically located cannabis retail platforms in California. Subject to regulatory and certain closing conditions, each company will contribute its California dispensary operations to the joint venture in exchange for a 50% ownership interest.
Vireo operates twelve dispensaries and home delivery from recently acquired Eaze, Inc. (“Eaze”). Glass House currently operates eleven retail locations in California. The combined network will be supported by a preferential supply agreement with Glass House, California’s largest producer of large-scale hemp. After five years, Vireo will have the option to acquire Glass House’s shares in the joint venture, and Glass House will have a reciprocal right.
Cory Azzalino, president of California-based Vireo, has been named CEO of the joint venture, where he will oversee operations and lead the platform’s retail acquisition and expansion strategy.
“California remains the world’s largest legal cannabis market, and this joint venture allows us to unlock its potential in a way that neither company can achieve alone,” said Kyle Kazan, Glass House co-founder, president and CEO. “Vireo brings exceptional retail access and delivery infrastructure through the Eaze platform, while Glass House leverages proven retail execution, low cost, scale manufacturing and deep brand equity. Together with Vireo, we have found ways to mitigate California’s challenging pricing dynamics and expand the value of our retail operations without increasing the value of our retail operations without the core objectives of Glass. new legal markets outside the state”.
“Glass House is an ideal partner to collaborate with to build the future of cannabis retail in California,” said John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo. “Their manufacturing scale and brand strength, combined with Vireo’s retail depth and one of the industry’s leading technology-based delivery platforms, creates a joint venture that is greater than the sum of its parts;
The joint venture’s integrated delivery capabilities through the Eaze platform will expand distribution to areas with limited retail access, providing competitive pricing that supports the legal market.
I am proud to lead this platform and the opportunity it represents. Our combined retail and delivery network gives us the ability and resources to bring high-quality, affordable cannabis to consumers in California, including underserved communities, while pursuing disciplined growth that strengthens the legal market over the long term.
Cory Azalino
About Glass House Brands
Glass House is one of the fastest growing, vertically integrated cannabis companies in the US, focused on the California market and building leading, sustainable brands to serve consumers across all segments. Whether through its portfolio of brands that include Glass House Farms, PLUS Products, Allswell and Mama Sue Wellness, or its network of retail clinics across the state of California that includes The Farmacy, Natural Healing Center and The Pottery, Glass House is committed to its vision of excellence; For more information and company updates, visit www.glasshousebrands.com/ and https://ir.glasshousebrands.com/contact/email-alerts/.
About Vireo Growth Inc
Vireo was founded in 2014 as a leading medical cannabis company. Vireo is building a disciplined, strategically aligned and execution-focused platform in the industry. This strategy drives our intense local market focus while leveraging the strength of the national portfolio. We are committed to hiring industry leaders and deploying capital and talent where we believe it will deliver the most value. Vireo operates with a long-term mindset, an action bias, and an unwavering commitment to its customers, employees, shareholders, industry partners, and the communities it serves. For more information about Vireo, visit www.vireogrowth.com.
New Cannabis Ventures’ NCV Newswire aims to gather high-quality content and information about leading cannabis companies to help our readers filter through the noise and stay on top of the most important cannabis business news. The NCV Newswire is edited by an editor and is not, however, automated. Got a secret news tip? Get in touch.
Michigan Cannabis sales for March decreased compared to a year ago, as they increased sequentially by 8.9%. At 255.5 million dollars, sales decreased by 7.8 percent compared to the previous year.
The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency breaks down sales by medical and adult use, with medical sales down 36.8% year-over-year to $0.4 million, down 3.8% sequentially, and adult-use sales down 7.7% year-over-year to $255.5 million, up 8.9% sequentially.
The state breaks down sales by category and provides pricing details by category for both medical and adult;
For Adults – UseMedical
As supply continues to expand, adult flower prices have fallen sharply, although the decline is slowing. The average price of $987 per pound in March was up 3.0% sequentially from a record low in December and down 5.3% from a year ago.
Michigan hemp sales are expected to grow 82.1% to $1.79 billion in 2021, 27.9% to $2.29 billion in 2022, and 33.3% to $3.06 billion in 2023. billion In 2026, Michigan cannabis sales decreased by 7.8%.
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
Cory Azalino
