Seattle-based digital cannabis marketplace Leafly has closed its merger with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Merida Merger Corp. I.
Leafly first announced the merger in August. The newly formed company has adopted Leafly's name and will begin trading on the Nasdaq on Monday under the ticker symbol LFLY.
“Backed by substantial funding, tremendous advancements in cannabis legalization and e-commerce tailwinds, we are relentlessly focused on investing in our technology, talent, and content to execute our growth strategy and create value for all stakeholders,” Yoko Miyashita, CEO of Leafly, said in a news release. “Becoming a public company is an important milestone for the entire Leafly team."
Leafly, founded in 2010, allows consumers to shop and research cannabis products online. The company previously said it generated $27.4 million in profit during the first nine months of 2021 and $31 million in revenue. Although the company laid off over 140 employees in early 2020, Miyashita told the Business Journal in August the company was back in hiring mode.
Leafly is one of a number of local companies to go public through a SPAC merger recently. In December of 2020, Seattle-based home services software company Porch went public after its merger with PropTech Acquisition Corp. Seattle-based pet care marketplace Rover, meanwhile, went public in August after merging with Nebula Caravel Acquisition Corp.
Although SPACs have become an increasingly popular route to go public, companies that IPO are faced with new challenges like quarterly earnings calls and public financial reports.
"It's just another financing event, really, and like any financing event, it's a false summit, and it comes with another set of challenges and opportunities," Kirby Winfield, founding general partner of the Seattle-based venture capital firm Ascend.vc, previously told the Business Journal. "If it's done with an eye towards short-term returns for investors, then I think it's going to be interesting when the music stops."
Leafly has beefed up its leadership team ahead of going public. The company in November hired Rebecca Warner, a former Zillow executive, as its senior vice president of sales. Kimberly Boler, formerly of American International Group, took over the general counsel role in September, while Suresh Krishnaswamy, formerly of NextLevel, became chief financial officer that same month.
