Sectors / Legal Cannabis & Hemp

Legal Cannabis
& Hemp

Capital, M&A and strategic advice for cannabis and hemp operators and the investors who back them.

Sector deck

Legal Cannabis & Hemp: firm overview, transactions and team, 2026.

Sector overview

YAC built a cannabis and hemp team in October 2018, one of the first middle-market banks to do so.

We advise operators and investors who want to expand, finance, recapitalize or sell. The team has completed $369 million in capital raising, buy-side, sell-side, financial advisory and licensing transactions, including some of the largest M&A transactions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and capital raises for private multi-state operators.

Behind the team is the rest of the firm: 50 registered bankers and $1.8 billion in transactions closed since YAC was founded.

Who we work with

Multi-state operators	Canadian LPs	Private equity	Family offices
Hedge funds	Private investors	Independent operators	New entrants

Transactions

Receivership sale · Michigan

Glorious Cannabis Co.

$52 million
Sold to Chicago Atlantic
Closed December 2025

Michigan cultivator with a 50,000-square-foot facility in Au Gres. YAC advised on the sale out of receivership; the process reached about 1,000 potential buyers.

Company sale · Florida

San Felasco Nurseries

$65.7 million in cash and stock
Sold to Harvest Health & Recreation
Closed December 2018

Florida Medical Marijuana Treatment Center license permitting up to 25 dispensaries. The acquisition took Harvest to more than 40 licenses across 11 states.

Read the announcement →

Other cannabis and hemp clients

Acreage Holdings	Agronomed / Agri-Kind	Cansortium / Fluent	Cookies	ElectraLeaf
Foundry Works	Garden State Dispensaries	Green Line of Boston	Justice Grown	Magical Butter
Oreon	Palomar	Perkins Nursery	PharmaCann	Planet 13
Sanctuary Medicinals	Segra	Solevo	TerrAscend	The Healing Center
Umma	Whole Plants	Women Grow	Zelira

All completed transactions →

Selected engagements in which YAC or its professionals participated. Company names are shown for identification only and do not imply endorsement. Past transactions are not indicative of future results.

What we do

Mergers & Acquisitions	Exclusive sell-side and buy-side mandates, including license sales. We also advise on the acquisition and sale of distressed businesses and assets, and on consolidation across the sector.
Private & Public Placements	Equity and debt placed with institutional and private investors to fund growth, acquisitions, shareholder liquidity, or a restructured balance sheet.
Restructuring & Receiverships	Sales and dispositions run alongside court-appointed receivers, secured lenders and boards, when a business has to change hands under pressure.
Strategic Advisory	Confidential counsel to boards and special committees, including structures that limit losses and protect recovery for owners, fund managers and secured lenders.
Public Market Advisory	IPO and secondary work with management on how the company is positioned with institutional investors.
Fairness Opinions	Opinions under FINRA Rule 5150 on transactions between affiliated parties, where conflicts of interest can arise.

Team

David Bunzel

Senior Managing Director, Investment Banking, M&A, Public & Private Markets

dbunzel@yacapital.com

On YAC’s cannabis mandates since 2019; led the Glorious Cannabis sale. More than $1 billion in capital raises and M&A, including restructurings run with receivers. Before banking, 25 years as a CIO and portfolio manager at hedge and mutual funds.

Peter Formanek, CPA

Founder & Managing Partner

peter@yacapital.com

Founded YAC and advised on the San Felasco sale. More than 300 transactions over 30 years for fund managers, family offices and companies.