Atlanta's rising medical marijuana startup Surterra Wellness has closed a $100 million Series D round and approved the expansion of its board of directors. The round was supported by existing and new investors, family investment offices and the startup's current director, Ed Brown, former Patrón Spirits Co. CEO.
The startup plans to use the new funding to continue "strategic acquisitions and infrastructure capital expenditures," along with expanding its headcount to nearly 2,000 employees by the end of the year, according to a news release.
Last week, Surterra Wellness was cleared to acquire a Massachusetts cannabis company with dispensaries in Brookline and Northampton. The company, New England Treatment Access, also has a cultivation facility in Franklin that received state approval just before the deal was complete. The deal combined NETA’s 700 employees with Surterra’s 800 employees. With NETA’s two dispensaries, Surterra now has close to 30 dispensaries in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and Nevada.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the company announced Brown would join the startup as its executive director. Less than a year ago, Surterra Wellness announced it raised $65 million in a Series C round led by chewing gum billionaire and the startup's current CEO William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr.
"This significant financing reflects Surterra's ability to attract a sophisticated, curated investor group who trust our vision, business model and financial track record. The funding will accelerate our expansion as we add new iconic brands, build out our scalable infrastructure, invest in innovation and fuel our next stage of growth across the U.S. and global markets," Wrigley said in a statement.
Brown was announced as a new addition to the startup's board of directors, along with Kevin Fisher, executive director of operations at Surterra. Fisher is a veteran of the cannabis industry, and the co-founder and former CEO of NETA and Molecular Infusions, a canabinoid, biopharmaceutical company based in Boston. Surterra has acquired both of these companies.
The new funding brings Surterra's total amount raised in private capital to more than $300 million. Some future plans for the company include expanding its headcount of 1,500 employees to 2,000 by the end of the year. The company has open positions at its headquarters in Atlanta and in Florida, Las Vegas and L.A.
Surterra plans to launch cannabis-infused foods in Florida this summer and enter the California market with the launch of several Surterra brands later this year. Other successes the company has seen this year include the acquisition of Las Vegas-based The Apothecary Shoppe, entering the Nevada market and closing a $100 million deal with Intrexon Corporation to support cannabis plant production.
As of just two months ago, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law House Bill 324, which makes it legal for six private companies, the University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University to grow marijuana to produce low-THC cannabis oil. There are roughly 9,500 registered medical marijuana patients in the state.
