It has been a little over a year since Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) announced its acquisition of General Hydroponics and sister company Vermicrop Organics, marking its entry into serving the cannabis industry. As noted when we last looked at it, General Hydro still doesn’t account for a significant portion of the overall company’s operations, but, according to a recent article in Forbes, its growth continues to be quite robust, with sales increasing 20% from the $50mm annual run-rate at the time of the acquisition. It has also unveiled a new soil product, Black Magic, that targets cannabis growers.
Scotts Miracle-Gro, through its Hawthorne Gardening Company division, recently purchased 75% of lighting provider Gavita International, further expanding its reach into the cannabis industry. The company apparently invested $120mm. According to the Forbes article, CEO Jim Hagedorn calls the “pot business”, in which he intends to invest “like, half a billion” the “biggest thing I’ve ever seen in lawn and garden.” Forbes reports that the company will invest another $160mm by year-end. It also controls Aero Grow International (OTC: AERO), which sells a device targeting consumers that can be used to grow cannabis, and intends to exercise warrants over the balance of 2016 according to an SEC filing.
Read Dan Alexander’s “Cannabis Capitalist: Scotts Miracle-Gro CEO Bets Big On Pot Growers”: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2016/07/06/cannabis-capitalist-scotts-miracle-gro-ceo-bets-big-on-pot-growers
