Cannabis delivery company Eaze has recently completed a $15 million bridge funding round as the company is low on cash and looking to expand its reach to retail by selling its own brands through its own “depots,” according to a TechCrunch report. An Eaze spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company is also preparing for another round of personnel cuts; Eaze already laid off about 30 people over the summer.
“The company is going through a very important transition right now, moving to becoming a plant-touching company through acquisitions of former retail partners that will hopefully allow us to more efficiently run the business and continue to provide good service to customers.” Eaze, to TechCrunch
According to company documents outlined by TechCrunch, Eaze is currently attempting to raise a $35 million Series D funding round but had initially tried to raise a $50 million Series D. The target was lowered when Anthos Capital reportedly pulled out of the deal at the last minute. The $15 million bridge came from current, unnamed, investors. The company has a $388 million enterprise value entering the fundraising round, according to Eaze documents outlined in the report.
Eaze admitted that moving to branding and retail in the space is “a pretty significant change from provider of services to operating.” The company is reportedly looking to acquire some of the assets of Dionymed – a bankrupt Canadian cannabis company that had been an Eaze partner, then competitor – whose assets include an Oakland, California dispensary, Hometown Heart, that Eaze plans to use for its first delivery depot.
An Eaze employee told TechCrunch that the company can bring in between $800,000 and $1 million in net revenue, on a good day, except those figures represent total merchandise value before it pays suppliers and others. The company plans to add five more states to its delivery roster this year, and three more in 202; currently it only operates in California and Oregon.
The news of funding at Eaze comes on the heels of layoffs and restructuring at several leading cannabis brands during 2019.
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