Cannabis site Leafly to go public via SPAC merger (updated)

Leafly Holdings

09/08/2021 13:46

(Adds details from the release, background)
    Aug 9 (Reuters) - Top cannabis-focused website Leafly will
go public through a merger with Merida Merger Corp I  MCMJ.O 
that values the combined company at about $532 million, the
blank-check firm said on Monday. 
    The blank-check firm is owned by Merida Capital Holdings,
one of the biggest backers of Leafly, whose site visits have
seen a meteoric rise thanks to easing regulations in the United
States and rising weed use.
    Existing Leafly shareholders are expected to own about 72%
of the combined company after the deal, which Reuters first
reported on Friday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NS3M0
    The merger is expected to generate up to $161.5 million in
proceeds.
    Prospects of federal legalization and pandemic-led lockdowns
pushed up Leafly's site visits to more than 220 million last
year, up 12% from 2019, making it the world's most visited
website on weed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NS3M0
    Leafly is expected to report revenue of about $43 million in
2021 and $65 million in 2022, Merida said. The company will be
listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "LFLY" after its
merger with the blank-check firm. 
    Blank-check firms, or special purpose acquisition companies
(SPACs), use the capital raised through their initial public
offerings to buy and merge with a private company, in a deal
that then takes it public.

 (Reporting by Sahil Shaw in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
 ((Sahil.Shaw@thomsonreuters.com;))