*By Jacqueline Corba*
MedMen, an American cannabis company based in Los Angeles, began trading on the Canadian Stock Exchange on Tuesday, earning a valuation of $1.1 billion.
"Today is day one," co-founder and CEO Adam Bierman said in an interview with Cheddar. "There is nothing quick in regards to anything having to do with our industry. This is a long play."
MedMen has 18 licensed facilities in California, Nevada, and New York. The company recently opened a medical marijuana dispensary on 5th Avenue in Manhattan with a high-tech and minimalist design that has prompted comparisons with an Apple store.
But unlike tech companies, even legal cannabis companies in the United States don't have access to institutional capital. That's why MedMen had to go to Canada.
"They are the second American cannabis company to do it, they are not going to be the last," said Greg Zeman, associate editor at Cannabis Now. "Everybody is looking for capital and affordable capital is not in heavy supply down here, and it is pretty abundant when you get up to Canada. It's like any rushーeveryone is trying to get in it now."
With an infusion of capital from the company's public listing ー six percent of the company was opened up for public sharesー MedMen's Bierman said the company will expand its retail operations and open new growing facilities. And maybe sometime in the future, the company could be listed in New York and Bierman can ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
"Prohibition will end here in the U.S.," Bierman said. "Bureaucracy is there for a reason, I don't think we want to change laws overnight here in this country. I think its good it goes through a process and takes time."
The next cannabis company to go through a similar process may be Orchid Essentials. That company's co-founder, Corey Mangold, told Cheddar's CannaBiz he plans to take his company public on the Canadian stock market in the fall.
Mangold laments the fact that he can't list his company in the United States, but said he was confident that change is coming to medical and recreational use of marijuana.
"It's time that we grab a hold and make a change that is long overdue," Mangold said.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
