Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE
BET Awards 2022 - Show

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty

Rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs got himself quite the birthday gift for himself last week (November 4). After already conquering the music, fashion, fragrance, beverage, marketing, film, television, and media worlds, the mogul is now setting his sights on cannabis.

The 53 year-old agreed to acquire licensed cannabis operations in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois from Cresco Labs Inc. (valued at $1 billion) and Columbia Care Inc. (valued at $500 million). The deal is estimated to be worth up to $185 million. According to a release from Diddy and the companies, ot only does the transaction mark Diddy’s first investment in cannabis, it creates the country’s first minority-owned, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis company, as well as the world’s largest Black-owned cannabis company.

Earlier this year, Cresco Labs agreed to purchase Rican Columbia Care in a $2 billion deal that made Cresco the top United States cannabis producer. The deal went down as one of the biggest deals in the cannabis industry history and required Cresco to divest assets in limited-license markets such as New York.

Included in the deal are four retail stores and one production facility in the state of New York; three retail stores and one production facility in Massachusetts; and two retail stores and one production facility in Illinois.

In a press release on Friday, Diddy stated “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.”

“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,” he added.

BET Awards 2022 - Show

Source: Leon Bennett / Getty

The assets will give Combs the ability to grow and manufacture cannabis products and wholesale and distribute those branded products to licensed dispensaries in major metro areas including New York, Boston and Chicago, as well as operate retail stores in all three states.

“For Cresco, the transaction is a major step towards closing the Columbia Care acquisition and our leadership position in one of the largest consumer products categories of the future,” said Charles Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs.

Bachtell added that the industry is in need of “greater diversity of leadership and perspective,” and that the deal with Combs is “incredibly exciting.”

Congrats to Diddy on making yet another power move!