After facing problems with management and finances, Bloomfield Industries, one of New York’s five licensed medical marijuana companies, is being acquired by MedMen, a California management and investing firm that has vowed to turn the company around.
The plan involves moving Bloomfield’s 230,000-square-foot grow site and manufacturing facility from Long Island City, Queens, to Utica, MedMen announced Wednesday.
In the takeover, Bloomfield must keep its name and operate the same facilities until its two-year registration expires on July 31, the Department of Health told Politico New York, which first reported the deal.
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Bloomfield has so far opened dispensaries with limited hours in Syracuse, Buffalo and Lake Success, which MedMen promises to transform with its “industry-leading retail model.” The Los Angeles Times recently described a wood-paneled MedMen dispensary in West Hollywood as “reminiscent of an Apple store.”
After more than a year of delays, a Bloomfield dispensary planned for Midtown is slated to open soon, MedMen said Wednesday. The company would not offer a more specific time frame. It will be the second dispensary in the borough, along with one near Union Square that’s operated by competitor Columbia Care.
MedMen defended its decision to invest in New York’s cannabis industry, which will likely take time to generate profits. So far state regulations have resulted in high production costs and a small customer base that have made it difficult for the five licensed medical marijuana companies to make a profit. Several reforms intended to expand the market are currently being considered or put into effect.
“New York is critical to our broader strategy,” Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive of MedMen, said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s the fourth-most-populous state in the country and home to one of the largest, most densely populated cities in the world. We have the opportunity to serve roughly a fifth of that market, perhaps more. I don’t think you can be a national company without some presence in New York.”
Launched in 2010, MedMen has its own dispensaries in California, in addition to contracts to manage operations on behalf of license holders in the U.S. and Canada. The company also has a capital-investment arm. It launched a $100 million private-equity fund in June, which it said would be used to invest strategically in “supply-constrained, high-barrier-to-entry markets.” The fund is partnered with Wicklow Capital, based in Chicago.
“Before committing to New York, we took a long and hard look at Bloomfield’s operations and held numerous consultations with the state’s Department of Health,” said a MedMen message to the audience at a cannabis-industry event in Manhattan Tuesday evening; it was read by a proxy. Other New York cannabis companies had speakers at the event, but MedMen and Bloomfield were conspicuously absent from the lineup.
“Ultimately,” the statement continued, “we decided to deploy a tremendous amount of capital and other resources into Bloomfield because we believe wholeheartedly in the future of New York’s medical marijuana program.”
After facing problems with management and finances, Bloomfield Industries, one of New York’s five licensed medical marijuana companies, is being acquired by MedMen, a California management and investing firm that has vowed to turn the company around.
The plan involves moving Bloomfield’s 230,000-square-foot grow site and manufacturing facility from Long Island City, Queens, to Utica, MedMen announced Wednesday.
In the takeover, Bloomfield must keep its name and operate the same facilities until its two-year registration expires on July 31, the Department of Health told Politico New York, which first reported the deal.
Bloomfield has so far opened dispensaries with limited hours in Syracuse, Buffalo and Lake Success, which MedMen promises to transform with its “industry-leading retail model.” The Los Angeles Times recently described a wood-paneled MedMen dispensary in West Hollywood as “reminiscent of an Apple store.”
After more than a year of delays, a Bloomfield dispensary planned for Midtown is slated to open soon, MedMen said Wednesday. The company would not offer a more specific time frame. It will be the second dispensary in the borough, along with one near Union Square Gorabet that’s operated by competitor Columbia Care.
MedMen defended its decision to invest in New York’s cannabis industry, which will likely take time to generate profits. So far state regulations have resulted in high production costs and a small customer base that have made it difficult for the five licensed medical marijuana companies to make a profit. Several reforms intended to expand the market are currently being considered or put into effect.
“New York is critical to our broader strategy,” Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive of MedMen, said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s the fourth-most-populous state in the country and home to one of the largest, most densely populated cities in the world. We have the opportunity to serve roughly a fifth of that market, perhaps more. I don’t think you can be a national company without some presence in New York.”
Launched in 2010, MedMen has its own dispensaries in California, in addition to contracts to manage operations on behalf of license holders in the U.S. and Canada. The company also has a capital-investment arm. It launched a $100 million private-equity fund in June, which it said would be used to invest strategically in “supply-constrained, high-barrier-to-entry markets.” The fund is partnered with Wicklow Capital, based in Chicago.
“Before committing to New York, we took a long and hard look at Bloomfield’s operations and held numerous consultations with the state’s Department of Health,” said a MedMen message to the audience at a cannabis-industry event in Manhattan Tuesday evening; it was read by a proxy. Other New York cannabis companies had speakers at the event, but MedMen and Bloomfield were conspicuously absent from the lineup.
“Ultimately,” the statement continued, “we decided to deploy a tremendous amount of capital and other resources into Bloomfield because we believe wholeheartedly in the future of New York’s medical marijuana program.”
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