Las Vegas cannabis company pays $49M for Florida dispensaries

Planet 13's purchase of VidaCann, which has a large Gulf Coast presence, gives it an immediate foot print and the infrastructure to double its Florida store count quickly.

By Louis Llovio
| 3:30 p.m. August 31, 2023
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Planet 13 has bought VidaCann, a Florida chain of cannabis dispensaries.

Florida

VidaCann, a Florida chain of cannabis dispensaries, has been sold to Las Vegas-based Planet 13 Holdings for $48.9 million.

The cash and stock purchase has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, Planet 13 says in a statement announcing the deal and its details.

The purchase is part of the company’s effort to expand into Florida and the transaction both increases the number of stores it has in the state and gives it a fully operational greenhouse cultivation and processing facility to support future growth.

“Acquiring VidaCann would significantly accelerate our time to market and, more importantly, scale in Florida,” Larry Scheffler, Planet 13’s co-CEO says in the statement. “VidaCann is one of the 10 largest Florida cannabis operators by retail network size, and we believe it has developed a reputation for high product quality and customer service.”

Jacksonville-based VidaCann has 26 stores in the state, including eight on the Gulf Coast: in Bonita Springs, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Largo, Port Charlotte and two in Tampa. With the new slate of stores, Planet 13 says it will have 30 dispensaries in Florida.

The processing facility, which VidaCann spent $25 million to expand from 150,000 square feet to 600,000 square feet starting in 2019, will allow it to supply as many as 60 stores, Planet 13 says.

In addition to Nevada and Florida, Planet 13 also operates a dispensary in California and plans to open one Illinois.

According to the cannabis industry publication MJ Biz Daily, a previous agreement to sell VidaCann to Cresco Labs in 2019 for $120 million in cash and stocks fell through when Cresco backed out in order to hold onto cash.

Planet 13 is probably best known for its 112,000-square-foot cannabis superstore in Las Vegas.

The travel website TripAdvisor says the store is the “largest dispensary/entertainment complex on the planet” with an interactive LED floor, 3D mapping on the ceiling and other technologies.

TripAdvisor does not say whether Planet 13’s products need to be sampled in advance for one to fully appreciate the shopping experience.

author

Louis Llovio

Louis Llovio is the deputy managing editor at the Business Observer. Before going to work at the Observer, the longtime business writer worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Maryland Daily Record and for the Baltimore Sun Media Group. He lives in Tampa.