Marijuana Retailer Won’t Say if Sale Includes Pasadena Operation

An official with a cannabis company would not confirm if a Pasadena branch would be sold as part of the corporation’s plan to divest many of its California holdings.

Earlier this week, Harvest Health and Recreation announced plans to divest from California and sell most of its business assets in the state to High Times for $80 million.

“At this time I cannot offer any specifics as it relates to Pasadena or any of the assets that may be included,” said Alex Howe, head of corporate communications.

Statements by Harvest seem to indicate the company no longer considers California one of its top priorities.

“This planned divestment of select retail assets in California allows Harvest to focus on optimizing operations and expanding assets in core markets such as Arizona, Florida, Maryland, and Pennsylvania while retaining a smaller retail presence in California,” the cannabis company wrote is a press release.

The transaction is expected to close by June 30, 2020 subject to various closing conditions and contingencies including regulatory approvals and availability of capital consideration. Assets may be excluded from the divestment plan if required approvals are not obtained resulting in an adjustment to the total consideration, according to Howe.

Harvest and several other dispensaries hoping to obtain permits to sell cannabis in Pasadena came under scrutiny week regarding changes inside the companies after the city chose them to move forward in the selection process in June.

On Wednesday, the city’s Planning Department announced that a hearing to discuss Conditional Use Permit applications filed by Varda (Tony Fong) and MME Pasadena Retail (MedMen) would be continued while the city investigates changes to both companies.

Harvest has already been granted a Conditional Use Permit which could eventually be transferred to High Times, but that may not be the case with a cannabis permit according to Reyes.

Harvest has not yet obtained a cannabis permit.

“We don’t have all the facts so we will take a look,” Reyes told Pasadena Now on Wednesday.

Last year Pasadena became one of the most sought after cities for cannabis dispensaries when it opened its selection process.

More than 100 companies paid a $14,000 application fee to apply.

Harvest, Integral Dena, Sweet Flower, Atrium, Varda (Tony Fong) and MME Pasadena Retail (MedMen) were chosen to move forward in the process.

So far, only Harvest and Integral Dena have been awarded CUPs. Atrium and Sweet Flower have been eliminated from the process at this point.

“While we did not specify the assets that may be included should the deal become finalized, the majority are from the recent Have a Heart transaction and some additional non-operational facilities,” Howe said, “There are a number of contingencies required for the deal to close later this summer and if it does, Harvest will still maintain a retail presence in California with existing retail stores and licenses.

In the meantime, it remains business as usual for all of us and we will continue to focus on operational excellence, returning to profitability in key markets and improving lives through the goodness of cannabis.”