Agrify Secures Financing from Green Thumb Industries and Announces New Leadership
TROY, Mich., Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Agrify Corporation (Nasdaq: AGFY) (“Agrify” or the “Company”), a leading provider of innovative cultivation and extraction solutions for the cannabis industry, today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a $20 million convertible secured note (the “Financing”), of which $10M will be drawn upon at closing, from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Green Thumb Industries Inc. (“Green Thumb”) (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), a leading national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and owner of RISE Dispensaries. Prior to this financing, the Green Thumb subsidiary acquired an ownership stake in Agrify through the purchase of common stock and warrants (the “Transaction”) from its outgoing Chairman and CEO Raymond Chang and outgoing Director I-Tseng Jenny Chan. Agrify will continue to operate as an independent business and was not a participant in the Transaction. Following the Transaction and Financing, Agrify retains the majority of its existing management team and all of its independent Directors.
Concurrent with the Financing, Raymond Chang resigned as Chairman and CEO of Agrify and I-Tseng Jenny Chan stepped down from the Board. Following the acceptance of the resignations, the Agrify Board appointed Benjamin Kovler, Richard Drexler, and Armon Vakili to replace the outgoing Directors, bringing the total Board membership to six, the majority of whom are independent. In addition, Mr. Kovler was appointed to the roles of Agrify’s Chairman and Interim CEO following Mr. Chang’s resignation. Mr. Kovler, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive of Green Thumb, will retain his leadership and responsibilities at Green Thumb, where he is focused on creating value for Green Thumb shareholders. Over his tenure at Green Thumb, he has successfully grown the company into one of the most profitable cannabis consumer packaged goods and retail businesses operating in the U.S. today. Mr. Drexler has over 40 years’ experience in corporate leadership roles as well as serving on several public company boards and audit committees. Mr. Vakili currently serves as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships at Green Thumb and has over a decade of experience in corporate affairs, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and finance.
Krishnan Varier, a member of the Agrify Board, said, “This is great news for Agrify at a time when the Company needed a capital infusion. I am confident that this new investment from Green Thumb and Ben’s leadership will provide Agrify the necessary financing support and operational expertise to help position us for growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. We especially look forward to working with our new Board members, given their proven track records of successes. On behalf of our Board, I want to thank Raymond for his numerous contributions to the Company over the years. He has done a great job preparing us for our next phase of growth and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
We believe Green Thumb’s financial investment and the new Directors’ experience can help Agrify unlock its untapped potential. Raymond and his team have worked hard to develop world-class proprietary technologies for the cultivation and extraction businesses, and we thank him for his support during this transition.
Ben Kovler
Given Green Thumb’s thoughtful and prudent approach to capital allocation, we see significant opportunity ahead to assist in the creation of value for shareholders via Agrify’s non-plant touching assets. We are excited to be a significant owner of Agrify and I look forward to working with Krish, Brian and team right away.
Outgoing CEO, Raymond Chang, commented, “This is a great transaction for all our shareholders and employees. It has been an exciting journey for us, and I am incredibly proud of the entire Agrify team for what we have accomplished. I am confident that Agrify and the team are in experienced hands with its new leadership, and I am looking forward to focusing on my next chapter.”
About Agrify (Nasdaq: AGFY)
Agrify is a leading provider of innovative cultivation and extraction solutions for the cannabis industry, bringing data, science, and technology to the forefront of the market. Agrify’s proprietary micro-environment-controlled Vertical Farming Units (VFUs) enable cultivators to produce the highest quality products with unmatched consistency, yield, and ROI at scale. Agrify’s comprehensive extraction product line, which includes hydrocarbon, ethanol, solventless, post-processing, and lab equipment, empowers producers to maximize the quantity and quality of extract required for premium concentrates. For more information, please visit Agrify at https://agrify.com.
