Diddy to create largest Black-owned cannabis business in a deal worth up to $185 million

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has expanded his business portfolio which includes fashion, media and spirits. His latest venture is in the marijuana industry said to be worth billions of dollars. According to reports, the hip-hop businessman has agreed to purchase licensed marijuana operations in three states from Cresco Labs Inc. and Columbia Care Inc. for up to $185 million.  

The deal, if approved, will be America’s largest Black-owned and licensed cannabis company. Under the deal, a company owned by Diddy will acquire nine retail stores and three production facilities inNew York, Massachusetts and Illinois. 

“His company would pay $110 million in cash and $45 million in debt financing, plus additional money based on certain market-growth milestones. Cresco and Columbia agreed to merge in March,” the WSJ reported.

The WSJ noted that Diddy decided to venture into the marijuana market to address the inequalities in the system where black people are disproportionately arrested for marijuana crimes.

“It’s diabolical,” Combs, 53 years old, told the WSJ. “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?”

CNBC reported that the deal comes after Cresco Labs earlier this year agreed to purchase rival Columbia Care in a $2 billion deal that would make Cresco the top U.S. cannabis producer. Per the deal, Cresco must divest assets in limited-license markets such as New York.

Diddy joins a list of celebrities like Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Wiz Khalifa among others. Although he is a new entrant, he said he has been mulling venturing into the sector for years.

Diddy was raised by his grandmother following the killing of his dad when he was only two years old. He graduated from the Roman Catholic Mouth Saint Michael Academy in 1987 and proceeded to Howard University as a business major, but left after his sophomore year, according to Celebrity Net Worth. 

He is credited with nurturing talents such as Jodeci and Mary J. Blige besides Notorious BIG, Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, 112, Total, and Father MC.