Privateer Holdings

Privateer Holdings
Industry Private Equity Firm
Founded (October 20, 2011 (2011-10-20))
Founder Brendan Kennedy
Michael Blue
Christian Groh
Headquarters Seattle, Washington, United States
Website privateerholdings.com

Privateer Holdings is a private equity firm that strategically invests in the legal medical cannabis field.[1][2][3] Privateer Holdings is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and is the first firm in the US to focus entirely on cannabis-related companies.[4][5][6] The firm's first investment round closed at $7 million on July 13, 2013.[7][8][9][10][11][12] On January 8, 2015, Privateer Holdings announced that Founders Fund, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms with more than $2 billion in assets under management, had made a multimillion-dollar investment in Privateer Holdings’ Series B round. The investment marked the first time a major institutional player had placed capital in the cannabis industry.[13][14][15][16] On April 7, 2015, the firm announced the completion of $75 million in Series B financing - the largest private capital raise in the legal cannabis industry to date. This brings the company’s fundraising total to $82 million.[17][18]

Portfolio companies

Privateer Holdings portfolio companies include Leafly, the world's largest cannabis information resource, Tilray - a premium medical cannabis company located in Nanaimo, British Columbia, and Marley Natural - a partnership with the Bob Marley estate launching a line of cannabis strains, topicals and accessories.[19]

Background

Brendan Kennedy, Michael Blue, and Christian Groh founded Privateer Holdings in 2011.[20][21] During its first investment round, the firm is developing a pool of $7 million for use in acquiring or starting businesses in the cannabis industry.[6][11][21]

Privateer Holdings currently invests only in companies that are ancillary to the direct production or selling of cannabis.[4][5] Companies in this segment of the industry might include media companies, software companies, and financial services such as insurance.[4][5]

In 2012 Privateer Holdings acquired Leafly.com, a website that provides reviews of cannabis strains and dispensaries.[4][5][21][22]

In November 2014, Privateer Holdings and Bob Marley's daughter Cedella launched the cannabis brand Marley Natural developed by the Marley family in conjunction with Privateer.[23]

Market

Privateer Holdings' primary market is the medical cannabis area.[4][5] In Washington, it is estimated that over 360,000 people will shop at state-licensed cannabis dispensaries in 2013, and a 2011 study by See Change Strategy predicted that there would be an $8.9 billion medical-cannabis industry by 2016.[5][24][25] Some estimates of the industry's current size range from $14–40 billion, and Privateer Holdings projects that the industry will grow to $50–$75 billion within five years.[24][26]

Leadership

Brendan Kennedy

Brendan Kennedy is a graduate of the Yale School of Management and received a Master of Engineering from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley. Before founding Privateer Holdings, he worked as chief operating officer for SVB Analytics and was the chief executive officer and founder of Mindability, Inc.[4][5][10][22][27]

Michael Blue

Michael Blue is the chief financial officer of Leafly and one of three founders at Privateer Holdings. Blue is a graduate of the Yale School of Management and holds a bachelor of business administration from Harding University. In addition to his current positions, he has served in executive-level roles at various investment banking and private equity firms.[4][5][9][27]

Christian Groh

Christian Groh is Partner of Privateer Holdings and one of the three founders for the firm. Groh holds an MBA from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Science from California Maritime Academy. Prior to Privateer Holdings, he worked as head of sales for SVB Analytics.[2][4][5][9][27]

References

  1. ↑ "Groups waiting to cash in on pot sales in Washington". Fox 12 KPTV. February 14, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  2. 1 2 J.J. Colao (March 26, 2013). "Meet the Yale MBAs Trying to Tame the Marijuana Industry". Forbes. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Audacity of Dope". The Economist. February 16, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kim Murphy (December 9, 2012). "Plenty of smoke clouds the future of legalized pot in Washington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Jonathan Martin (December 1, 2012). "Investors see profit potential in new pot law". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Patricia Murphy (November 29, 2012). "Seattle Web Entrepreneur's Efforts To Re-Brand Marijuana". KUOW.org. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Privateer Holdings Inc. Closes $7 Million Funding Round — Privateer Holdings". Privateerholdings.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  8. ↑ "Privateer Holdings - The Cannabis Industry's First Private Equity Firm - Closes $7... - SEATTLE, July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  9. 1 2 3 Eric Mortenson (January 25, 2013). "Investors and entrepreneurs have high expectations - sorry - for cannabis related businesses". Oregon Live. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Mitchell Hartman (December 27, 2012). "The business of selling pot... legally". American Public Media - Marketplace Business. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Kirsten Johnson (December 14, 2012). "Obama's hands-off stance may move marijuana businesses forward". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  12. ↑ Kent Bernhard Jr. (March 21, 2013). "Can Private Equity and Pot Mix?". Upstart Business Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Legal Marijuana Co. Privateer Holdings Scores Millions From Peter Thiel's Founders Fund". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  14. ↑ "Peter Thiel's firm invests in Bob Marley marijuana company". Fortune. 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  15. ↑ Kia Kokalitcheva (2015-01-08). "Peter Thiel's Founders Fund pours funds into the company behind Leafly, an online cannabis community | VentureBeat | Deals | by Kia Kokalitcheva". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  16. ↑ "Peter Thiel's fund buys into marijuana business". Cnbc.com. 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  17. ↑ Rebecca Kelley. "Privateer Holdings Closes $75 Million Funding Round — Privateer Holdings". Privateerholdings.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  18. ↑ "Privateer Holdings Closes $75 Million In Funding To Create The P&G Of Pot". TechCrunch. 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  19. ↑ "Portfolio — Privateer Holdings". Privateerholdings.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  20. ↑ Washington Secretary of State. Articles of Incorporation.
  21. 1 2 3 Deborah L. Jacobs (December 9, 2012). "Postcard from Seattle: New Clouds Hand Over The City As Pot Becomes Legal". Forbes. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  22. 1 2 Alice Truong (April 20, 2012). "Leafly, a user-driven marijuana database you can browse at work". DVICE. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Bob Marley family launches "first world cannabis brand"". BBC. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  24. 1 2 Taylor Soper (November 7, 2012). "What legalization means for a medical marijuana startup". GeekWire. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  25. ↑ Justin Berton (December 11, 2012). "Heady stuff for Washington State tokers". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  26. ↑ Taylor Soper (October 31, 2012). "Leafly: Like Yelp and Consumer Reports... for medical marijuana". GeekWire. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  27. 1 2 3 "Privateer Holdings Team". Privateer Holdings. Retrieved April 7, 2013.

External links

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