“M&A at Mid-Year”
Volume 21 Number 3
“Much of this activity springs from an urge to consolidate, long a force in M&A, says Peter Hogan, a shareholder in Buchalter’s Los Angeles office and a member of the firm’s Corporate Practice group, ‘COVID has revved up this trend as smaller companies have been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic. Operators who are used to doing business on a larger scale will buy a smaller company to consolidate,’ he says. ‘If they have a better way of operating they can put it all under one roof and save money by doing a better and more efficient job.’
Mr. Hogan has seen this need to consolidate at work in healthcare, with roll-ups in nursing and outpatient facilities, tele-health and elder care. It is also a powerful force in the cannabis industry. ‘Larger dispensaries will come in and buy independent dispensaries in strategic markets as they try to ramp up their brand across the country,’ he says. The proliferation of different brands of CBD are attractive targets as well to those who hope to set up full-service shops. ‘You also have professionals and companies from other industries moving quickly into this emerging space.’ What’s more, he predicts that at some point in the next few years cannabis will become legal under federal law, which will be the starting point for a gold rush in the industry, with alcohol and tobacco giants among many likely prospectors.'”
