Marijuana companies are gearing up for IPOs and NYSE and Nasdaq are jonesing to list them
US marijuana companies are the latest prize in the so-called “listing wars” between the top two US stock markets, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, On The Money has learned.The heightened interest in IPOs for Pot Inc., comes after federal barriers that have long blocked access to banking services are beginning to topple.In December, a Trump executive order moved weed to a Schedule 3 controlled substance, meaning it’s no longer on par with heroin and can be used for medicinal purposes.
Then came the April codification of the EO by the DOJ and the DEA into law.The upshot: US pot companies that have long been denied banking services – because they are regulated on the federal level despite vast state legalization – can access capital markets as long as they register with the DEA as a medical company. The other upshot: A scramble between NYSE and the Nasdaq is heating up to list US pot companies that were long denied access.The $50 billion industry is expected to grow to nearly $100 billion annually by 2030 as exchanges vie for their listings and their investor base opens up to major institutions. The NYSE has taken the early lead in the marijuana race.
Glass House Brands of Long Beach, Calif., which grows weed and manufactures cannabis related products officially listed on the NYSE on June 30; executives of the company will be ringing the closing bell at the Big Board on Friday.A few weeks earlier, the NYSE listed Trulieve, a Jacksonville, Fla., pot operator, but that was after sharp competition between the two exchanges, people there tell me.
“In the Spring after we had been speaking with NYSE for a few months, Nasdaq approached about listing and highlighted the speed with which their processes could support listing,” a rep from Glass House tells me.A press official from the NYSE didn’t return a request for comment; a rep for Nasdaq declined comment other than to say there is no “fast track” approvals for listings.Listings are a key sou...