SOL Global Investments (CSE: SOL) (OTCQB: SOLCF) (Frankfurt: 9SB) announced that its portfolio company Heavenly Rx. Ltd. closed its US$30.06 million investment in Blühen Botanicals LLC, a hemp and hemp-derived CBD biomass farming, processing, extraction and retail company headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.

Heavenly Rx acquired a 50.1% stake in Blühen in exchange for $12.06 million in cash and $18 million in equity consideration in the form of Heavenly Rx stock. Joe Fox, co-founder and CEO of Blühen Botanicals, will join the Heavenly Rx’s executive team.

Blühen Business

Blühen is expected to become Heavenly Rx’s exclusive supplier of bulk hemp-derived CBD distillates and isolate and hemp-based extracts.

The company opened its 4,086-square-foot flagship retail location in Knoxville, joining the company’s three other facilities in the Knoxville area, including Blühen headquarters, a research and development center, and its processing facility. The company plans to open another retail location in Fort Lauderdale, Florida later this year.

Blühen also produces its own blend of boutique wellness products at its pharmaceutical-grade hemp research facility in Knoxville. The company’s products include full spectrum hemp extract tinctures, capsules, creams, 100% THC-free isolates, pet treats, and oils. The company has existing farming and distribution partners across the southeastern U.S. and all finished products will be manufactured in the company’s GMP compliant facility.

“Since its founding, Blühen’s focus on advanced genetics, extensive farming partnerships, and an innovative processing and extraction model has helped shaped it into the visionary market leader in the hemp industry it is today,” SOL CEO Brady Cobb stated. “This investment in Blühen will allow Heavenly Rx to control the quality and pricing of its CBD isolate, the most important ingredient that Heavenly Rx will utilize across all of its consumer product lines.”

What Next

Blühen plans to use Heavenly Rx’s investment to expand its research and engineering teams and to focus on the development and expansion of its retail operations and e-commerce sales platforms.

The investment will also allow Blühen to scale up its existing high-throughput processing and extraction capabilities to meet the growing demand in the U.S. marketplace, and further expand its already robust network of expert farmers across the states of Tennessee and Kentucky.