Publicly-traded Helix TCS (OTC: HLIX) announced the acquisition of shares of privately-held BioTrackTHC from founder Steven Siegel and co-founder Brian McClintock. The press release lacked details about the size of the stake, the purchase price or if the acquisition was with cash or the issuance of shares, though Helix TCS will now be the largest investor in the Florida-based software company. Additionally, another buyer, Rose Capital, described as a “capital partner” to Helix TCS, participated in the transaction, but its role wasn’t clearly defined. The selling cofounders described their exit as a “painstaking process”, but the reason for the sale wasn’t disclosed.  Helix TCS CEO Zachary Venegas will join the BioTrackTHC Board of Directors.

This purchase will further support the existing initiatives between Helix TCS and BioTrackTHC, while providing a key link in Helix TCS’s fully developed Integrated Operating Environment for the Legal Cannabis Industry.

Zachary Venegas, Helix TCS CEO

Helix TCS, which has a convertible preferred that boosts its fully diluted shares to about 67mm, has a market cap of $570mm.  The company, which doesn’t file with the SEC, has reported sales in the first half of the year of $862K with an operating loss of $470K and equity of just $344K as of June 30th. HLIX has rallied significantly since the cannabis stock rally began, rising 963% since 8/31:

Exclusive article by Alan Brochstein, CFA

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email