Scotts Miracle-Gro-backed RIV Capital buying New York cannabis company Etain

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. -backed RIV Capital Inc. said Wednesday it agreed to pay about $247 million to acquire Etain LLC and Etain IP LLC, the New York cannabis market's only women-owned and operated business and one of 10 approved vertically integrated operators in the state. RIV Capital is backed by $150 million in debt from The Hawthorne Collective Inc., the cannabis unit of Scotts Miracle-Gro. RIV Capital also named Mark Sims as its CEO to "lead the company's formal entry into the U.S. market and expansion into licensed adult-use operations in New York." Sims was most recently senior vice president of strategy and M&A for Scotts Miracle-Gro. Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro are down 19.6% so far in 2022, compared to a drop of 3.4% by the S&P 500.

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