Harvest Health & Recreation, a vertically integrated cannabis company with one of the largest footprints in the U.S., agreed to acquire Verano Holdings, an arm’s length third party, one of the largest privately held multi-state, vertically integrated licensed operators of cannabis facilities, in an all-stock transaction for an estimated purchase price of approximately $850m based on a share price of CAD8.79 ($6.55). The combined company will be one of the largest multi-state operators in the U.S., as measured by licenses held and facilities permitted. “The combination with Verano fits perfectly with our vision of creating the world’s most valuable cannabis company,” said Jason Vedadi, Executive Chairman of Harvest. “We are confident that this is an opportunity to continue to leverage each of our company’s strengths and drive continued shareholder value, while at the same time achieving the scale we know will give us a leadership position in one of the largest cannabis markets in the world.”