Diddy has expanded his financial portfolio. The billionaire is reportedly set to acquire licensed weed operation facilities in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois. If approved, Diddy would have America’s largest Black-owned and licensed cannabis company.
“How do you lock up communities of people, break down their family structure, their futures, and then legalize it and make sure that those same people don’t get a chance to benefit or resurrect their lives from it?” Diddy asked Wall Street Journal.
Black cannabis entrepreneurs make up less than 2 percent of America’s marijuana business, which reportedly employs approximately 500,000 workers.
“Two percent?” Diddy said. “All the years, all the pain, all the incarceration … To me, it was important to do a big deal like this.”
Berner, a rapper on Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang, is the fourth-wealthiest rap artist in 2022, according to Rolling Stone. Berner is the founder and CEO of the cannabis company, Cookies.
Diddy plans to purchase the cannabis operations of Cresco Labs Inc. and Columbia Care Inc., two of the biggest cannabis companies in America. The $110 million cash payment and $45 million in debt financing buy-in will give Diddy nine retail stores and three production facilities in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, according to the announcement.
“My mission has always been to create opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in industries where we’ve traditionally been denied access, and this acquisition provides the immediate scale and impact needed to create a more equitable future in cannabis,” Diddy said in a statement. “Owning the entire process — from growing and manufacturing to marketing, retail, and wholesale distribution — is a historic win for the culture that will allow us to empower diverse leaders throughout the ecosystem and be bold advocates for inclusion.”
Recreational use of marijuana is legal in 19 states and in 39 states it is approved for medical use for adults. Marijuana use is still illegal under federal law.
