LeafLink, a wholesale marketplace for cannabis, closed a $250m credit facility, marking one of the largest debt deals to date as the marijuana industry ventures into the world of credit.
Doug Gordon, head of LeafLink Financial, said in a phone interview that the deal is the first to introduce liquidity to the broader market. . It already provides some factoring, or trade credit, to facilitate transactions in some areas of the US. The credit facility, granted to the company’s finance division, shows how cannabis debt deals are structured creatively. The loan, which is from an undisclosed private commercial lender, will be used to expand factoring in areas where it operates, Gordon said.
LeafLink, which is privately held, declined to disclose other details of the debt facility, citing the agreement’s terms. Lenders have entered the industry with caution, since cannabis technically remains illegal under US federal law.