Altitude Investment Management, a New York based investment firm focused on the rapidly growing Cannabis industry, announced today that it recently made its first investment in a European cannabis company, EMMAC Life Sciences Limited, with a $2.4mm investment in ordinary shares of the company. UK-headquartered EMMAC is a European medical cannabis company, combining the latest science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction, and production.
Altitude’s participation was part of an £11 million financing to be used to close pending acquisitions and to support collaborative research efforts focused on medical cannabis. The recent acquisition of UK-based Rockshaw Limited supports these efforts by enabling EMMAC to import medical cannabis into the UK and to manufacture EU GMP products. In addition, EMMAC has established a research collaboration with Imperial College London focused on pre-clinical and clinical research to investigate cannabis-based medicinal products aimed to directly benefit patients. The initial focus will be research on therapeutic products for chronic pain, spasticity and cancer.
“EMMAC has procured a number of supply and distribution agreements throughout Europe and has established itself as one of the early vertically-integrated, multi-jurisdictional leaders in the European cannabis supply chain. By building assets for cultivation, manufacturing, R&D, branding and distribution; as well as through focusing on GACP and EU-GMP compliance, EMMAC continues to set itself apart from the competition,” says partner Rod Stephan. “EMMAC’s goal is to establish itself as the leading independent European medical and wellness cannabis operator, and we are excited to see how they execute on this mission.”
Over the last several months, Altitude has focused its research on emerging European cannabis investment opportunities, with a thesis that the European cannabis market is several years behind the North American markets, and the inefficiencies that exist today create attractive risk-adjusted returns. Altitude’s experience in North Americahas prepared the team well to identify and structure investments in Europe that are attractive for investors. While there is no real recreational market in Europe, the CBD wellness market is thriving, and the medical cannabis market is following a regulatory pathway that should ultimately lead to broad acceptance of doctor-prescribed cannabis and cannabinoid formulations.
“With each jurisdiction having its own laws, just as each state has its own cannabis regulations in the US, Altitude’s hands-on approach to investing in Europe should give us an edge,” says partner Michael Goldberg. “The pathway to full legalization will prove to be full of ups and downs, providing ample time for attractive investments to be made.” As part of the European focus, Altitude has boots on the ground in Londonand will have an office opening in the coming weeks.
While surveying the European market for further opportunities, the firm continues to manage and invest in its portfolio companies. Canndescent is a core portfolio investment into which Altitude invested additional capital in a bridge note this past February that can be converted into the next funding series. In January, Altitude added to its portfolio with an investment in Sunderstorm Inc., a leading California brand and manufacturer of edible gummies. Additionally, Altitude made an investment in SpringBig, Inc., one of the largest loyalty and text-based marketing companies in the cannabis industry. SpringBig has aggressively ramped their business with the largest multi-state operators and hundreds of dispensary customers and connects to more than 6 million consumers.
About Altitude Investment Management, LLC:
Altitude Investment Management, LLC is a US-based investment firm focused on the emerging legal global cannabis industry. The partners have been actively investing in the cannabis industry and have successfully invested in the alternative investment space for years. Altitude provides institutional quality investment management experience to its investors. For more information about Altitude Investment Management please contact [email protected] or visit www.altitudein.com. For press inquiries, please contact Melanie Reese at [email protected].
Source: Bisopace
