Vireo Growth Inc. enters California and Florida and strengthens delivery platforms with acquisition of Eaze Inc.
The deal will expand Vireo’s operating footprint to 10 states with 166 dispensaries and approximately 800,000 square feet of cultivation and manufacturing.
The acquisition will also add 14 dispensaries to the company’s retail footprint in Colorado
Eaze’s delivery platform will strengthen the company’s IP portfolio with a strong presence in California
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vireo Growth Inc. (“Vireo”) (CSE: VREO; OTCQX: VREOF) (“Vireo” or the “Company”) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire. Eaze Inc. (“Eaze”), a vertically integrated cannabis retail and delivery technology platform with operations in California, Florida and Colorado. Eaze has 65 active retailers and has completed over 12 million shipments.
The deal marks Vireo’s entry into two of the nation’s largest hemp markets, California and Florida. Eaze has a strong presence in delivery sales in California with four co-located retail and delivery locations and eight delivery-only locations covering most of the state’s major metropolitan areas. In Florida, Eaze is currently the sixth largest retailer with 39 active stores and approximately 64,000 square feet of development space with significant expansion capacity. Finally, the deal will expand Vireo’s retail presence in Colorado with 14 additional dispensaries, bringing the total Colorado footprint to 55 stores. Upon closing, Vireo’s portfolio of cannabis brands and assets will span a total of 10 states with 166 active retail dispensaries and approximately 800,000 sq.ft.
The transaction will be completed through a planned merger whereby Eaze will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Vireo. The total transaction amount includes a base consideration of approximately $47.0 million, payable through the issuance of approximately 84 million of the Company’s subordinated voting shares, closing at an assumed issue price of $0.56 per share. The total amount payable in the transaction is subject to adjustment based on closing levels of cash, debt, tax liabilities and working capital adjustments, as well as the occurrence of certain other events prior to the closing date. The Share Redemption is subject to a normal holding period under the rules of the Canadian Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”). Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of necessary approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2026.
Eaze may be entitled to a gain consideration as of December 31, 2026, calculated as 3.84x Adjusted EBITDA, less closing consideration and adjusted for incremental debt, with any such gain payable in subordinated voting shares of the Company at an assumed price equal to the average price of $205 and the higher of the December 205 price. 31, 2026, subject to Exchange pricing policy.
Each of the Eaze sellers has entered into voluntary share lock-up agreements under which the shares will be subject to transfer restrictions for an aggregate period ending on March 1, 2028. Under these agreements, 20% of the shares will be released on March 17, 2027, September 22, 2020, September 2, 2020, June 21, 2020. 1, 2027 and March 1, 2028, the remaining shares are subject to closing from closing to the applicable issuance date.
Chief Executive Officer John Mazarakis commented: “We are excited to announce the arrival of Eaze and Vireo in California and Florida. The addition of Eaze provides immediate scale in two of the nation’s largest cannabis markets and strengthens our position in Colorado.”
Joining Vireo marks an exciting next chapter for Eaze. Our shareholders and teams share a common vision of building scalable, best-in-class operations, and together we are well positioned to enhance the retail and delivery experience for customers in every market we serve.
Cory Azzalino, Chief Executive Officer, Eaze Inc
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 on Vireo, visit www.vireogrowth.com.
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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,
With the first month of the year almost half over, the Global Hemp Stock Index rose 0.3% to 6.61. While that’s better than cash, it lags the S&P 500, which gained 1.2%, and notably the Russell 2000, which gained 6.9%.
The global hemp stock index has been in decline over the past five years, falling 4.2% in 2025, its best annual performance since a recent surge in 2020. The hemp industry is so down and should be rallying, but most bets on that outcome have lost money.
The index was recalculated at year-end, with three stocks exiting and two entering, leaving the index with 27 stocks. So far in 2026, 17 are up, with double-digit percentage gains, and 10 are down, including three that are down more than 20%. Here is a table that includes all the companies and some additional information:
The average market cap is $1.1 billion. MSOS is up 4.7% year-to-date, and the index contains 7 MSOs, all of which have gained. The last column shows that five of these seven have negative tangible book value, suggesting potential downside risk for those with significant debt.
I keep a close eye on 16 of the 27 names. Canopy Growth, Cresco Labs, Cronos Group, Curaleaf, GrowGeneration, Green Thumb Industries, Innovative Industrial Properties, WM Technology, Organigram, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Scotts Miracle-TilrayrA BTrumsndce, Villa Verano. I’ve covered most of the others and written about RYTHM and SNDL on Seeking Alpha.
The drops include two recent additions that got me thinking more about inclusion rules. These two as well as others have very low market caps. They all met the minimum price rule and minimum average daily trading value criteria, and they are in the cannabis sector. The next rebalance, which will take place in March, may include some new rules.
The overall stock market is on the rise, but hemp stocks are still not catching the attention of investors. Shares in the index, up just 0.3% year to date, are trading near their 50-day and 150-day moving averages. MSOs are helping the market so far, while several stocks are hurting it. My model portfolio in the 420 Investor, which did very well in 2025, is outperforming the index so far in 2026. I’m very underweight MSOs relative to the index, own two, slightly overweight Canadian LPs (three names) and have a large overweight in ancillaries (four names). The model portfolio had 19% cash on 1/14.
The cannabis industry suffers from slow growth, increased competition, a slowdown in adult-use states, an uncertain regulatory environment at the federal level, and many unfair taxes (280E) Hopefully things will improve in 2026.
Sincerely,
Alan:
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we published last week.
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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
Michigan hemp sales for the month of December increased from a year ago as they rose 3.8% sequentially, which was +0.5% on a daily basis. At $269.7 million, sales increased by 1.6 percent compared to last year.
The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency breaks down sales by medical and adult use, with medical sales down 50.2% year-over-year to $0.4 million, up 10.8% sequentially, and adult-use sales up 1.7% year-over-year to $269.3 million, up 3.8% sequentially.
The state breaks down sales by category and provides pricing details by category for both medical and adult;
For adultsMedical
As supply continues to expand, prices for adult flowers have plummeted. The average price of $932 a pound in December fell 2.6 percent sequentially to a new record low and fell 15.9 percent from a year earlier.
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. forward as supply becomes more accessible and distribution expands.
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,
The hemp industry ended 2025 with a slight decline. The New Cannabis Ventures Global Cannabis Stock Index, which started at 100 at the end of 2012, has fallen 4.2% in 2025 to 6.59. This was the 5th consecutive annual decline.
The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (NYSE Arca: MSOS ) rallied last year, gaining 20.5%, but it’s down a lot since late 2020 when it was at $36.50. The 5-year yield at $4.72 was -87.1%. During that time, the Global Hemp Stock Index fell 85.2 percent, just shy of a recession.
So far in 2026, the global hemp stock index is unchanged. MSOS, which rose in December, fell 3.0% to $4.58. After last year’s big jump, investors probably aren’t too worried just yet. Perhaps they shouldn’t have, because the realignment is still in progress, and if it passes, it’s very incremental because of the elimination 280E tax. Of course, it remains to be seen whether a realignment will actually happen, and if so, when it will happen.
Investors or traders have rushed to MSOS over the past few years in hopes of a reshuffle. The lift in late December had massive volume, surpassing the volume in August when rumors of a possible realignment under Trump first surfaced. It was also heavier than when the MSOS fell after the last election in 2024. So far in 2026, volume has been fairly low, as seen in this six-month chart:
MSOS is still trading above the 12/11 price, as are most of its stocks. It’s also trading up more than 100% from near its all-time low of $2 set last year. To me, while the stock has fallen well from its recent peak, down 36.8% from its 12/18 intraday high, it looks like it could continue to decline. The recent downturn has not spurred buyers. In my 420 Investor model portfolio, I have very little exposure to MSOs compared to the Global Hemp Stock Index, just 6.6% in both MSOs compared to 25.9%.
The ETF, which is slightly leveraged, is loaded with three MSOs, as I’ve discussed before: Curaleaf (OTC: CURLF ), Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF ) and Trulieve (OTC: TCNNF ) at 67.7% MSOS. Curaleaf, which has a major debt challengeso far in 2026, it has fallen by 1.4% and moved from the second largest position to the third. Trulieve, the current largest holding, fell 5.6%, while GTI, now the second largest, rose 2.0%. MSOS has not purchased or sold shares of any of these MSOs so far in 2026.
I have watched MSOS since its day 1 which was in late 2020. Although I was and continue to be highly critical of the way it was run, I commended them for their early efforts. Unfortunately, there are no cannabis investment funds, including ETFs, that come close to MSOS in terms of assets under management. The ETF has grown its share count dramatically over the past year, despite a recent small drawdown. Investors should understand that if it hits redemptions, it could put pressure on the MSO subsector and the price of MSOS.
It is very possible that hemp will be reclassified with the end of 280E taxation. It is also possible that large MSOs will not have to pay past 280E taxes that they did not pay. If 280E goes away and the previous liabilities go away, it will be very positive for MSOs and it will likely eliminate potential MSOS repayments. Of course, if 280E holds, traders stacked in MSOS will have trouble finding new buyers. No chart will answer this question about the future of the 280E.
I continue to recommend that cannabis investors look beyond just the MSO part of the market. I have discussed several times, as well as recently, that hemp REITs make more senseand I have a lot of exposure to both of them in my modeling portfolio. There are other supporting names that should have upside if the 280E goes away for their customers, but less downside if it stays. Canadian LPs might also make sense. 280E taxation makes no sense and should go away, but it seems premature to suggest that it will.
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:.
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
Cory Azzalino, Chief Executive Officer, Eaze Inc
