{"id":8274,"date":"2018-05-15T21:33:51","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T21:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=3052206"},"modified":"2018-05-15T21:33:51","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T21:33:51","slug":"denver-marijuana-tech-firm-baker-gets-scooped-up-in-four-way-merger-with-ipo-planned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/denver-marijuana-tech-firm-baker-gets-scooped-up-in-four-way-merger-with-ipo-planned\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver marijuana tech firm Baker gets scooped up in four-way merger, with IPO planned"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/denver-marijuana-tech-firm-baker-gets-scooped-up-in-four-way-merger-with-ipo-planned\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Baker Technologies Inc., a Denver-based developer of software for cannabis businesses, has drafted a seemingly simple recipe for success: strength in numbers.<\/p>\n<p>The startup that started out with desires of being a consolidator \u2014 acquiring and integrating other cannabis-centric technology firms \u2014 will itself be folded into a larger firm.<\/p>\n<p>Under a four-company merger announced Tuesday, Baker will serve as a key ingredient of Tilt Holdings Inc.,\u00a0a newly formed provider of an assortment of cannabis services, technologies and products to feed the mushrooming multibillion-dollar global cannabis industry. The four-way merger is another deal in a wave of cannabis industry consolidation and comes on the heels of Monday\u2019s giant $2.2 billion merger of Canadian marijuana firms Aurora Cannabis Inc. and MedReleaf Corp.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Baker, Tilt\u2019s founding companies include: Briteside Holdings LLC, a Bend, Ore.-based marijuana delivery company; Sea Hunter, a Boston-based marijuana facilities operator and finance provider; and Sante Veritas Holdings Inc., a newly formed Toronto-based company that submitted applications to be a licensed marijuana producer in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>Tilt is targeting a public offering in Canada and projecting a market capitalization of $500 million. By the end of this year, Tilt could post $70 million in revenue. That could grow to upward of $200 million by 2019, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, there\u2019s a massive opportunity \u2014 where the Canadian public markets have really high multiples of revenue (for cannabis firms),\u201d said Joel Milton, Baker\u2019s co-founder and CEO.<\/p>\n<p>But structure is lacking, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this idea of growing more weed and selling more weed, the four companies combined under Tilt seek to fill in the gaps in the early-stage market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re providing the technology and infrastructure that this industry needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Baker sought to do just that since its founding in 2014, providing \u201cSalesforce\u201d-like customer relationship management software to dispensaries. Those shops can then offer services such as online ordering and loyalty programs; in turn, the dispensaries and Baker get loads of data and analytics.<\/p>\n<p>Baker recently expanded its services by launching an\u00a0Application Program Interface, better known as an API. The API\u00a0allows for other ancillary technologies (digital cash registers, cultivation monitoring systems, signage, etc.) to communicate with Baker\u2019s system.<\/p>\n<p>To deliver more robust services and reach a wider market \u2014 the company serves about 1,000 dispensaries today \u2014\u00a0Baker acquired its largest CRM competitor, Grassworks Media, in late 2017.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy vision: Roll up the tech industry,\u201d said Milton, who previously founded a company called InfoHubs that wanted to develop a network of touch screens installed across New York City, connecting consumers and businesses.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve its vision, Baker needed money. And although the company has raised $11.5 million to-date, finding funds is a challenge for a company providing services to suppliers of a federally illicit substance in fractured state-legal markets.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>A publicly traded Tilt could allow for extra capital to flow toward acquisitions of other technology firms, said Milton, who is slated to continue as the company\u2019s president overseeing the technology business.<\/p>\n<p>Baker\u2019s 67-person operation, which includes nearly 60 people in a newly renovated downtown Denver office, is expected to grow, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe time is now, and we see a massive opportunity in the market,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we want to move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, the merger could wrap up by mid-June. Tilt is expected to maintain offices in Boston, Denver and Toronto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Under a four-company merger announced Tuesday, Baker will serve as a key ingredient of Tilt Holdings Inc.,\u00a0a newly formed provider of an assortment of cannabis services, technologies and products to feed the mushrooming multibillion-dollar global cannabis industry. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7814,5062,52,6811,6813,77,5577,9,7275,7231,5019,6845,1,3,5219,61,1736],"tags":[7815,5063,2632,6816,6818,2655,5580,7277,7232,5022,6846,5234],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8274"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}