Cannabis site Leafly to go public via SPAC merger
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Top cannabis-focused website Leafly will go public through a merger with Merida Merger Corp I 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.
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.
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)
