In a new article, Dinsmore Partner Jim Carlisle discuses with Law.com what it took to put together Pennsylvania’s first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in the cannabis industry. Carlisle recently led a team advising Organic Remedies, a medical marijuana company operating dispensaries across Pennsylvania.
The deal required about eight months of education and regulatory review because state officials had not previously approved an ESOP change-of-control transaction for a cannabis company. Carlisle said ESOPs are increasingly attractive as succession and ownership-transition tools, especially in regulated industries. For cannabis businesses, the structure may offer significant tax advantages by helping offset federal tax burdens that limit deductions for operating expenses.
You can read the article here.
The deal was also covered by cannabis industry news site MJBizDaily. You can read that article here.