Altmore Capital, a senior debt lender, closed its first cannabis debt fund, exceeding its goal by more than 200%. The new fund is available to “plant-touching” businesses with more than $10 million in revenue. To date, Altmore Capital has invested in and led more than $130 million in financing in the cannabis industry and expects to complete an additional $200 million to $300 million in the next year.
“Due to federal laws and limited debt financing options, the cannabis industry, and especially plant-touching businesses, is starved for capital. We launched our new fund to provide transformational capital for a large number of cannabis companies that are evolving into strong cash flow operations,” Rob Shuler, co-managing partner at Altmore Capital, said. “The industry expects tremendous growth over the next 10 years, but it has had few funding options. We plan to help facilitate the growth and expansion of the industry with this new capital.”
Altmore is a senior secured debt lender to the cannabis industry, loaning $5 million to $100 million to operators in the U.S. The firm’s current borrowers are both single state operators and multi-state operators (MSOs). Altmore’s cannabis fund is structured for investments in “plant-touching” businesses, including cultivators, manufacturers and retailers in the cannabis space.
“We know that well-positioned cannabis companies have the opportunity to solidify and grow in their market position. In addition to organic growth, cannabis companies are aggressively buying competitors, which is driving industry consolidation,” Shuler said. “More than half of Altmore’s $300 million backlog comprises buyers funding acquisitions.”
Altmore Capital’s partners have more than 70 years of combined investor experience and have been active in the cannabis industry for more than four years.
“We understand and appreciate the unique business and legal complexities of cultivation, manufacturing, retail and other aspects of the cannabis industry, which is what sets us apart from others in this space,” Shuler said. “We share the same passion for the benefits of the plant as the trimmers, budtenders and CEOs in the companies in which we invest and wake up every morning excited to work in an industry that we love.”
