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Heir to Jim Beam Empire Lands Deal with Cannabis Company

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]F[/dropcap]or several generations, Ben Kovler’s family has run the Jim Beam bourbon whiskey empire and elevated the brand to what it is today. Now, Kovler is venturing into the cannabis industry with a new deal that will make Green Thumb Industries (GTI) public in Canada.

GTI is a cultivator, processor and dispensary chain that’s already expanded into six states. The company operates 12 dispensaries in Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Business is expected to be even better in Canada, with approval from the federal government.

“We’re taking the world from moonshine to cocktails,” Kovler told Bloomberg. “People come in complaining that the moonshine burns their throat, and we say, ‘Here, try this rum and Coke.’ We’re seeking to create an authentic relationship with consumers in the same way that alcohol companies do with hard liquor, beer and wine.”

Kovler plans to go public next month with an announcement of a reverse merger. A reverse merger is the acquisition of a public company by a private company, so that the private company can avoid the complex processes that typically happen when going public.

Kovler’s ancestors invested in the liquor company early on, shortly after James Beauregard Beam launched his brand of bourbon whiskey out of Kentucky. According to a biographical book, Kovler’s great-grandfather Harry Blum bought out Jim Beam partners back in 1941 for about $1 million (which would translate to $17,483,971.63 in 2018 with inflation).

Kovler calls the cannabis industry as the end of “Prohibition 2.0,” and alcohol Prohibition is something his ancestors know about. The distillation business is quite similar to the cannabis business, especially with fluctuating laws and strict regulations.

Many cannabis producers are turning to Canada, as the northern nation is ready to legalize cannabis this year. The current federal classification of cannabis in the United States always creates some level of uncertainty that producers don’t like.

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