Jushi Holdings (OTCMKTS:JSHHF) has announced that the City of North Las Vegas has given approval to a management services agreement between its subsidiary Production Excellence and Franklin Bioscience NV.

Jushi is preparing to enter the greater Las Vegas in Nevada market through Franklin Bioscience, which holds medical and adult-use cannabis cultivation, processing and distribution licenses issued by the Nevada Department of Taxation. The company currently operates cultivation, production and distribution facilities in North Las Vegas.

Agreement

As part of the deal, Jushi has completed the purchase of the real estate associated with Franklin Bioscience’s facility in North Las Vegas.

Production Excellence has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire 100% equity ownership of Franklin Bioscience, subject to state and local approvals. An application for change of ownership has already been submitted with the State of Nevada Department of Taxation and is pending.

The company will purchase Franklin Bioscience’s licenses and related real estate for US$9.0 million in a combination of US$6.4 million in cash and US$2.6 million in promissory notes.

The equity acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2019, subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

Acquisition

The facilities acquired include two adjacent buildings with cultivation, manufacturing and distribution capabilities. The buildings may be combined and expanded further.

Additionally, the Nevada Department of Agriculture issued Franklin Bioscience Nevada a Hemp Handler license.

“The Nevada Department of Agriculture Hemp Handler license will allow us to receive and process industrial hemp in accordance with Nevada regulations. This license is complimentary to the hemp CBD processing license we already have in place in New York,” Jushi CEO and Chairman Jim Cacioppo stated.

The operations team at The Clinic, Jushi’s recently closed acquisition, will assist Franklin Bioscience Nevada in building similar facilities to lead the expansion in Nevada.

Las Vegas is one of the most visited cities in the world with approximately 60 million visitors annually and approximately 3 million residents, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Statewide, revenue for medical and adult-use cannabis, and cannabis-related tangible goods are expected to reach approximately $800 million by 2022, according to Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics.

“Nevada, particularly the greater Las Vegas region, is an important market for us. As one of the largest adult-use markets in the U.S., Nevada’s high tourist volume represents an opportunity for us to showcase our operational expertise and partner with other premier national brands as well as provide an ideal, central location for wholesale distribution” Cacioppo stated.