The $17 million acquisition combines Akerna’s Compliance Gateway and feature-rich reporting with 365 Cannabis’ Microsoft solution. The combined solution offers cannabis operators the most comprehensive ERP system, crucial to scale as the cannabis industry continues to grow.
Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN), an enterprise software, leading compliance technology provider, and developer of the cannabis industry’s first seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning (ERP) software technology (MJ Platform®), announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 365 Cannabis, a cannabis business management software system built on Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Central in a $17 million deal at 2.1x LTM revenue. The combined key capabilities of the acquisition are listed at the bottom of this announcement.
Akerna will host a conference call tomorrow, Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the acquisition.
A question-and-answer session will follow prepared remarks. Interested parties may listen to the call by dialing:
- Toll-Free: 1-877-407-3982
- Toll / International: +1-201-493-6780
- Conference ID: 13722555
An updated investor deck on the transaction will be made available at: ir.akerna.com.
As a result of the acquisition, 365 Cannabis’ 85+ clients will gain access to Akerna’s Compliance Gateway, feature-rich reporting, MJ Retail POS, and the recently launched Akerna Connect. Akerna has partnered with SAP, Sage Intacct, and other leading providers for integrated financials and tax planning, offering cannabis operators a solution for each stage of their evolution – from startup to multistate operator (MSO) – while maintaining regulatory compliance every step of the way through Akerna’s Compliance Gateway. The acquisition of 365 Cannabis accelerates the deployment of this strategy with the addition of Microsoft capabilities, further establishing Akerna as the most robust cannabis-compliant ERP system offering a full portfolio of mainstream tax and financials.
Over the past few years, there has been a substantial positive change in the political and social climate surrounding the cannabis industry, which has seen continued growth in revenue, new markets, and consumers. As new markets are added and the possibility of US federal reform increases, cannabis operators in existing markets are looking to expand their operations and become successful MSOs by opening or seeking to open operations in new states. To become a successful MSO, these businesses require a comprehensive ERP system that can scale with them as they grow from startup to enterprise while simultaneously meeting multistate compliance.
“By adding 365 Cannabis into our Akerna ecosystem, we will continue to create new standards and best practices around compliance in every state, province, and country across the globe, standardize how the global supply chain is managed, and forge best practices in technology and hosting,” says Jessica Billingsley, Chief Executive Officer of Akerna. “The synergies between our two companies’ products and offerings will finally create all in one for the entire cannabis industry, on a global scale.”
“As we combine our leading solutions built specifically for the ever-evolving cannabis industry, along with Akerna’s 80+ integrations through open APIs, we can now offer cannabis operators a full suite of products to optimize their businesses, improve overall functionality, and ultimately increase sales,” says Jeff Kiehn, Chief Executive Officer of 365 Cannabis. “With the combined team of over 200+ skilled employees including 30 + years of consulting experience, coupled with an unrivaled true ERP system and supporting technologies, our goal is to modernize and propel the cannabis industry throughout this rapid growth period and beyond.”
Cannabis 365 clients include Pharmacann, Nectar, Revolution, Sundial, Kiaro, and many others.
As the cannabis industry prepares for a post-legalization landscape, Akerna is strengthening its channel connections with existing ERP providers, firmly solidifying its strategic moat as the most comprehensive ERP solutions provider for the industry.
Businesses employ ERP solutions to manage their functions in a centralized system, bringing business intelligence and data, compliance and risk management, customer management, inventory, finance, operations, and supply chain information together. By using ERP products, organizations can scale, save money, and improve productivity all within one tool. Many cannabis technology solutions use the letters ERP but lack the full suite of offerings.
The deal will be paid with $4 million in cash and $13 million stock with a potential earnout of $8 million. The acquisition is expected to close in Q4 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
The combined complementary key capabilities of Akerna and 365 Cannabis will:
- Enable Akerna to deliver the broadest portfolio of ERP solutions for cannabis operators, covering access to a majority of the mainstream mid-market financial and tax planning market while establishing Akerna as the most robust cannabis-compliant Microsoft offering
- Offer cannabis operators a financial and tax planning system for each stage of their growth while realizing combined scaled synergies by maintaining regulatory compliance every step of the way through Akerna’s Compliance Gateway
- Give 365 Cannabis’ 85+ customers access to Akerna’s compliance gateway and ecosystem, including Akerna’s retail and analytics capabilities
For more such updates and perspectives around Digital Innovation, IoT, Data Infrastructure, AI & Cybersecurity, go to AI-Techpark.com.
