Bruce Linton to raise $150 million $ for American hemp

Bruce Linton, former co-founder and CEO of Canopy Growth, had announced. At the Benzinga conference in Miami on February 27, he revealed the forthcoming launch of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) with the aim of raising 150 million $ at its IPO on March 17 on the NASDAQ.

Promise fulfilled yesterday with the announcement of the creation of Collective Growth, which aims to develop the hemp supply chain in the United States. Bruce Linton isn't going it alone, and has enlisted the services of two stalwarts:

• Geoff Whaling, president of the Pennsylvania-based National Hemp Association, is credited with launching the first hemp industrial park in downstate New York.
• Tim Saunders, former Executive Vice President and CFO of Canopy Growth.

The three men have confirmed that Collective Growth has received preliminary approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise $150 million in an IPO on March 17 on the NASDAQ market.

The funds raised by Collective Growth will be used to build hemp decortication (fiber extraction) and processing facilities in the United States.

Geoff Whaling and Bruce Linton have both played an important role in the legalization of industrial hemp in the United States in 2018. American farmers have massively adopted hemp, grown mainly for the extraction of CBD, But until now, fiber has lacked the infrastructure to process it and turn it into a marketable commodity.

«We're telling them that if they grow it, we'll come» to process it, said Geoff Whaling. «This is an absolutely essential next step if we are to revive the hemp industry to reach the potential of being a major crop capable of making competitive products.»