Briefcase – July 2020

BRIEFS

NoCo Hemp Expo  sets date for next show

The NoCo Hemp Expo, which had to cancel its seventh, in-person show this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has scheduled its next expo for March 25-27, 2021.

The organization conducted a virtual show in June instead of the annual March 2020 in-person show.

The fall virtual conference will be Nov. 11-13 with details to be available soon.

Polis appoints members
to permanent oil & gas panel

DENVER —  Gov. Jared Polis has appointed a five-member, permanent Colorado Oil and Gas Commission as required by Senate Bill 181, the state law passed in 2019 that placed health and safety above production concerns in the regulation of the state’s oil and gas industry.

The original nine-member commission was composed of volunteers and was temporary. Its job was to write the initial rules and regulations that the industry would be required to follow. The five-member commission is a professional, paid board that will continue the work of regulating the industry.

The new commission will be effective July 8.

Otterbox launches AirPod case line

FORT COLLINS — Otter Products LLC, maker of Otterbox cell phone cases and accessories, announced the launch of a new line of protective AirPod headphone cases that can be clipped to keychains.

“AirPods are an essential part of the mobile experience,” OtterBox CEO Jim Parke said in a statement. “OtterBox brings trusted protection with convenient portability to these coveted audio-enhancers.”

The new Lumen Series and Ispra Series lines of AirPod cases are available online at Otterbox and Apple’s websites.

EARNINGS

Boulder VC firm Delta-v raises just under $14M

BOULDER – Delta-v Capital, a private-equity firm with offices in Boulder and Dallas, raised slightly less than $14 million over the past few months in a new round that appears to be going toward a software firm in North Carolina.

In a disclosure to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Boulder firm said it took in $13.85 million from two investors in a round that began in late April.

The fund’s name, Delta-v TW LLC, suggests that the funds are earmarked for TeamWorks Inc., a North Carolina-based software developer for athletic team scheduling and collaboration. That company raised $25 million in a Series C round last April, which was led by Delta-v.

Arca direct offering  raises $6.1M

WESTMINSTER — Arca biopharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ABIO), a Westminster pharmaceutical firm with a drug candidate that’s showed promise in treating blood clotting seen in some COVID-19 patients, raised $6.1 million in a direct stock offering, a significantly lower sum than the firm’s previously stated goal of $9.4 million.

Arca announced it would sell to institutional investors 348,000 shares of common stock at $9 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase 694,222 shares of common stock at $8.999. Ultimately, only 348,000 shares of common stock and 325,500 pre-funded warrants were sold.

Sphero spinoff raises $3M equity round

BOULDER — Less than two weeks after Sphero Inc. announced that it would spin off its public-safety division as Company Six, the company once known as Sphero Public Safety Robotics Inc. has filed documents for a $3 million equity raise.

Operating as CO6 Inc., Company Six reported that it has raised $3 million out of a $3.5 million private offering, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The equity round was raised from five investors, with the first sale occurring May 15.

The funding round was led by San Francisco-based Spider Capital, with participation from Sphero investors Foundry Group and Techstars, along with new investor GAN Ventures.

EXPANSIONS

Green Dragon takes over Boulder Botanics dispensary

BOULDER — Green Dragon Cannabis Co., a 15-shop Denver-area chain of marijuana dispensaries, has expanded into the Boulder market with the recent acquisition of the Boulder Botanics store at 1750 30th St.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, was completed at the same time Green Dragon was acquiring another new pot shop in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood.

“Both Boulder and Cherry Creek are vibrant, growing cultural centers that we have had our eye on for years, and we’re thrilled to finally be a part of these communities,” Green Dragon co-CEO Alex Levine said in a prepared statement.

Green Dragon expansion plans call for the opening of one or two dispensaries each year.

Schwazze acquires 14 Star Buds locations

DENVER — Schwazze, formerly operating as Medicine Man Technologies Inc. (OTCQX: SHWZ), has signed definitive agreements to acquire 14 Star Buds locations in Colorado.

Star Buds operates retail cannabis stores. The acquisition includes retail locations in Commerce City, Longmont, Louisville, Niwot, Pueblo, Pueblo West and Westminster, along with a cultivation facility in Denver.

The facilities are being acquired from 13 different ownership groups and collectively recorded $50 million in revenue in 2019, Schwazze reported.

The acquisitions are expected to close this year. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Utah co-working company expands to Boulder

BOULDER — Kiln Boulder LLC, a flex-office and coworking company with its headquarters in Lehi, Utah, is opening its first office in Boulder.

The company has leased 22,000 square feet of space at 2101 Pearl St. and will specialize in providing space for start-up and entrepreneurial businesses, according to information from the company.

The space is open to begin leasing.

Kiln has additional locations in Salt Lake City and Lehi with about 250 companies and 1,000 professionals leasing space, the company said.

Boulder’s A-Lodge  expanding to Lyons

LYONS — Boulder’s A-Lodge, or Adventure Lodge, an outdoor recreation-centric hotel off Boulder Canyon Drive, is opening a second location this summer in Lyons.

The new six-room A-Lodge will be at 338 Main St., the former location of Aspen Leaf Motel. A-Lodge owners Asa Firestone and Kris Klauber purchased that property last year. Boulder County property records show the motel changed hands in October for $736,000.

Short-term rentals for at least a few of the rooms will likely be available within about a week, Firestone told BizWest.

The Lyons property could eventually include a beer garden and a boutique operated as a partnership with artist Jeremy Collins’ Meridian Line apparel brand.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

ArcherDX picks acquisition over initial public offering

BOULDER and SAN FRANCISCO — Just weeks after it filed for a $100 million initial public offering, Boulder genomics testing company ArcherDX Inc. is being acquired by Invitae Inc. (NYSE: NVTA).

Invitae will pay $325 million in cash and 30 million shares of its stock to ArcherDX’s investors upon the transaction’s closure, and may issue an additional 27 million shares upon reaching certain milestones. The companies value the deal at up to $1.4 billion.

The San Francisco-based Invitae develops genetic tests to determine which treatments may be best-suited toward combating certain types of cancer, a similar endeavor to ArcherDX. In a statement Monday morning, it said it plans to integrate ArcherDX’s technology into its single platform.

Charlotte’s Web closes on Abacus acquisition

BOULDER — Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. (OTC:CWBHF), a local CBD product manufacturer, announced June 11 that it closed on a deal to acquire Canadian hemp topicals maker Abacus Health Products Inc. (CSE:ABCS).

The deal, first reported in March, is worth more than $68 million.

“The addition of Abacus Health cements a market leading position in both topical and ingestible products in the CBD category, representing approximately 33% market share of the U.S. CBD food/drug/mass retail channel,” Charlotte’s Web CEO Deanie Elsner said in a prepared statement.  “We thank the founders and team members of both Charlotte’s Web and Abacus for their vision and hard work to build our respective vital brands. We are now one dynamic team and mission-driven company.”

Abacus CEO Perry Antelman will now serve as Charlotte’s Web vice president and president of the firm’s topicals division.

Maxar to acquire 3D analytics firm

WESTMINSTER — Maxar Technologies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: MAXR) will purchase full control of 3D analytics firm Vricon Inc. for about $140 million.

In a statement June 24, the Westminster-based satellite maker said it would exercise its purchase option for the entirety of the Virginia-based producer of elevation maps for defense and intelligence agencies.

Maxar plans to finance the deal by buying back $150 million in long-term debt at 9.75% interest due in 2023 and issuing the same amount in debt notes due in 2027 at 7.54% interest. The company doesn’t expect the transaction to affect its efforts to reduce its long term debt load of $2.94 billion as of the end of 2019.

AMG wraps up merger with N.C. wealth-management firm

DENVER — AMG National Trust, a Denver-headquartered wealth-management firm with a banking arm in Boulder, closed on a deal in June to absorb fellow wealth-management operator Boys, Arnold & Co.

The merger adds new offices in Asheville, North Carolina, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to AMG’s existing operations in Colorado, Wyoming, Chicago, New Jersey and Virginia. The combined firm has 144 associates.

As part of the merger and to be able to provide banking services, BA applied for a new banking charter this year using AMG’s addresses in Greenwood Village and Boulder.

The June 1 merger was initially set to close this spring, but the COVID-19 outbreak slowed the process for both the firms and the regulators tasked with signing off on the deal.

NextGen’s purchase price for Otto Health revealed: $22M

BOULDER — NextGen Healthcare Inc. (Nasdaq: NXBN) has revealed the price it paid in December to acquire Otto Health LLC, a Boulder-based telehealth company.

NextGen’s 10K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed a preliminary purchase price for Otto of $21.96 million.

Otto was founded in 2011 and provides a telehealth platform that integrates with electronic-health-record systems, allowing providers to conduct video visits with patients as part of their normal workflows.

NextGen said it funded the Otto acquisition through cash flow and borrowing against its revolving line of credit.

Otto has been rebranded as NextGen Virtual Visits and operates as a division of NextGen.

OPENINGS

Vail Resorts to begin summer reopening

BROOMFIELD — Following a three-month COVID-19 closure, Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) properties were set to reopen for limited summer operations starting late June.

Keystone and Crested Butte were to reopen June 26, then Vail and Beaver Creek on July 1, and finally Breckenridge on July 4.

Vail will implement new health protocols at the reopened resorts, including more cleaning and sanitizing, resort-wide mandatory face masks for employees and for guests in certain areas, physical distancing, and capacity limits.

State allows restricted reopenings starting now

DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis relaxed some rules against in-person gatherings, which will allow limited re-openings of every type of business.

Under the “Protect Our Neighbors” rules, a local or regional public health authority can allow all activities to resume at a maximum of 50% capacity, or up to 100 people inside and 500 people outside at their discretion, as long as people can remain six feet apart. Mass gatherings of more than 500 would remain prohibited.

In particular, bars that don’t serve food could reopen at 25% capacity, while overnight summer camps could allow up to 10 children indoors and 25 children outdoors.

Crocs opens new Broomfield headquarters

BROOMFIELD — Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), the Niwot-born footwear brand, announced June 24 the opening of its new headquarters in Broomfield. The nearly 90,000-square-foot office space is home to about 375 employees, according to a Crocs news release.

The two-building Atria project was built by Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners.

Crocs has leased the space for an initial term of 10 years, with two five-year renewal options. Crocs said the firm looks forward to ingratiating itself into the Broomfield community and has joined the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce.

New fitness studio opens in Centerra

LOVELAND — Barre Forte, a fitness company with eight locations along the Front Range and ski destinations of Colorado, has expanded into Northern Colorado with a new facility in The Marketplace at Centerra in Loveland.

The company had hoped to open sooner but was delayed by the COVID-19 shutdowns that caused virtually all fitness companies to temporarily close. Centerra worked with the company to provide an open-air environment within a Centerra park so that instructors could offer members outdoor and online class options until their doors could officially open.

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