Photo/Zachary Comeau
Stephen Mandile was the first Mass. buyer of legal adult-use cannabis when he purchased marijuana at Cultivate, right after it opened in Leicester in 2018.
November 4, 2022
Rapper & businessman Diddy buys three Central Mass. cannabis businesses as part of $185M deal
Photo | Courtesy of Cresco Labs
Sean "Diddy" Combs, chairman and CEO of Combs Enterprises
By Kevin Koczwara
Sean “Diddy” Combs – the rapper, businessman, and producer – is buying three cannabis businesses in Worcester and Leicester, as part of a $185-million deal to buy 12 marijuana locations in Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois.
Among the dispensaries Combs is buying is the Leicester business formerly known as Cultivate, which was the first legal recreational marijuana dispensary to open east of the Mississippi River when it opened, along with NETA in Northampton, on Nov. 20, 2018. Cultivate is now known as Sunnyside, since it was purchased by Cresco Labs of Chicago in September 2021.
The other two Central Massachusetts cannabis businesses Combs is buying are the Leicester marijuana production facility Sunnyside and the Worcester location of Sunnyside, which also is a former Cultivate location.The fourth Massachusetts business he is buying is the Greenfield dispensary known as Patriot Care, which is owned by Columbia Care of New York City.
The sale of the facilities, which was announced Friday, comes as national cannabis wholesaler Cresco Labs purchases Columbia Care, a multi-state and international cannabis grower and seller. As part of the sale, the companies need to divest some of their assets to meet regulatory standards, which is why they are selling to Combs.
Combs is paying $185 million in total to acquire all the businesses in Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois. Combs is buying the companies through his Los Angeles-based Combs Enterprises, of which he is chairman and CEO.
The investment is Combs’ first in the cannabis industry. On top of the Massachusetts locations, he is acquiring four dispensaries and one production facility in New York as well as two retail locations and one production facility in Illinois. The deal creates the country’s first minority-owned and operated, vertically integrated multi-state operator, according to the press release.
“My mission has always been to create opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in industries where we’ve traditionally been denied access, and this acquisition provides the immediate scale and impact needed to create a more equitable future in cannabis,” Combs said in the press release from Creso and Columbia Care. “Owning the entire process — from growing and manufacturing to marketing, retail, and wholesale distribution — is a historic win for the culture that will allow us to empower diverse leaders throughout the ecosystem and be bold advocates for inclusion.”
Cresco board member Tarik Brooks is also the president of Combs Enterprises. He recused himself from the review and approval of the sale, which was reviewed and approved by an independent committee. Columbia Care’s board of directors also approved the sale.
A rapper and entrepreneur, Combs is also known as the founder of Bad Boy Records and Sean John clothing.
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November 4, 2022
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