Has High Times bought out Spannabis?

This January, Hightimes Holding Corp announced that it had acquired Feria del Cáñamo SL, owner of Cannabis Magazine and organizer of Spannabis, currently Europe's biggest cannabis fair, for the past 16 years.

The purchase, for $3 million in cash, $4 million in Hightimes shares and two payments of $500,000 for the 2020 and 2021 fairs, was to include all Feria del Cáñamo SL web domains and brands - Cannabis Champions Cup, Cannabis Magazine, World Cannabis Conferences, El Cutivador Prensa Cannabica Gratuita (free press for cannabis growers) and Hemp Guide Spain and Portugal plus commercial confidentiality and intellectual property and usage rights.

The deal was worth a total of $7 million - $3 million in cash and $4 million in High Times shares - and was to enable High Times assert its presence in Europe and its leadership in cannabis events.

As explained in the financial report for the first six months of 2019, the transaction was due to close by a maximum deadline of May 31, 2019, but no agreement has been reached.

«The news of the purchase came as it was in a former negotiation phase in which the sale was being considered, but ultimately no agreement was reached,» explain Feria del Cáñamo SL, who gave no details of the reasons for the closure of negotiations.

The leader in cannabis events

A benchmark in cannabis culture since 1974, High Times embodies the avant-garde of today's booming popular cannabis culture. The magazine is known the world over and has touched several generations of cannabis enthusiasts, but the company also organizes major cannabis events. High Times Holding company already owns Reggae on the River, of the High Times Business Expo and above all Cannabis Cup of which the first took place in Amsterdam in 1988. Today, they take place in over a dozen cities around the world, in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and Canada. Recently (in December) the company also acquired Buyers Industry Guide and its annual cannabic fair BIG Show.

Part fair, part festival, part lecture series, the Spannabis is undoubtedly Europe's most important cannabic event and High Times one of the world's best-known cannabis brands. The spannabis event includes an awards ceremony for regional products, and attracts tens of thousands of consumers and industrialists from all over the world. Spannabis returns to Barcelona for its 16th edition March 15 to 17.

“The Spannabis is one of the most prolific events in the cannabic ecosystem and one of the most recognized festivals in Europe,» explained the CEO of’High Times, Adam Levin.

«This acquisition will provide an additional international platform for our customers seeking new opportunities for international visibility». For his part, Carlos Palomino, CEO of Spannabis declared: “This agreement is decisive for Spannabis (...) For decades we have idolized High Times, so to be adopted by this forward-thinking team is just extraordinary.

The deal fell through, however, and High Times never bought Spannabis.