Curaleaf’s long-awaited acquisition of cannabis multistate operator Grassroots Cannabis was announced on Thursday, July 23. Grassroots, a privately-held company based in Chicago, has received  an undisclosed amount for the deal, which will see Massachusetts-based Curaleaf expand operations across 135 dispensary locations. Moreover, Curaleaf – a producer/supplier of premium cannabis edibles – will bag licenses to sell its products in 23 states.

Back in June, the deal was valued at around $700 million by analysts. However, Curaleaf’s acquisition of Grassroots was initially valued at $875 million and in June, Curaleaf amended the agreed amount to mirror a selloff of undisclosed Grassroots assets in Illinois, Maryland and Ohio that were unrevealed. This amended amount was introduced to obey license caps in the newly-acquired locations.

What does Curaleaf’s acquisition of Grassroots Cannabis entail?

In an effort to ensure that Curaleaf’s expanded footprint is managed properly, the company recently announced that it has appointed Grassroots co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mitchell Kahn, as the sixth member on its board for directors.

A news release published by the company spotlighted the fine details pertaining to Curaleaf’s acquisition of Grassroots Cannabis. Based on the public statement, the integrated medical and wellness cannabis operator’s branded goods will be sold in five more states; in addition to the 18 they were already stocked in before the deal was struck.

According to officials from Curaleaf, the company will now operate 88 retail dispensaries, in addition to 30 cannabis processing facilities and 22 cultivation sites spread across 1.6 million square feet. Curaleaf’s team are optimistic that the deal will enable the company to tap into Illinois’ growing recreational cannabis market, which launched at the beginning of the year.

Curaleaf also completed recent acquisition in Colorado 

Further broadening its presence across the U.S. legal weed landscape, Curaleaf recently confirmed an acquisition in Colorado for Virginia’s Kitchen dba BlueKudu. The company was approved by MED Colorado to finalize this acquisition on July 10. As the second-largest cannabis sector in the U.S., Colorado presents Curaleaf with a huge target market for its distribution network and licensing capabilities.

“Our acquisition of BlueKudu expands Curaleaf’s cannabis offerings in the key Colorado market, the second largest Cannabis market in the United States. By fusing BlueKudu’s manufacturing capabilities and statewide dispensary relationships with Curaleaf’s Select portfolio of adult-use cannabis offerings, we will expand consumer choice in Colorado. We look forward to bringing Curaleaf’s passion for quality and innovation to the Colorado cannabis market,” said CEO of Curaleaf, Joseph Lusardi.

Curaleaf can be found trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker “CURA”. Following the announcement of Curaleaf’s acquisition of Grassroots Cannabis, company shares rose USD $7.27 in early trading.