“Cannabis-Focused Venture Capital Firm Cliintel Capital Management Group Secures Colorado’s First-Ever Qualified Institutional Investor Designation
DENVER—October 1, 2018—While many institutional investors have shied away from the cannabis industry, where needs for capital funding are critical, that’s starting to change—in part because an experienced venture capital firm is changing the game.
Cliintel Capital Management Group (CCMG), created by investment managers with nearly three decades of experience in mainstream finance, has established a unique funding model and tested it in the maturing cannabis market in Colorado as the first firm to receive Qualified Institutional Investor (QII) designation by the state’s Department of Revenue for its marijuana-specific investment fund.
CCMG’s current assets run the full “seed-to-sale” gamut of cannabis production, as well as ancillary support businesses that span real estate, vaporizer hardware, cannabis product manufacturing, distribution and retailing for companies across the United States.
“At Cliintel Capital Management Group, we’ve leveraged our deep resources and institutional knowledge to build cannabis companies from the ground up and help others reach their full potential,” said Richard M. Batenburg Jr., CCMG’s veteran Fund Manager and a 35-year venture capitalist. “CCMG will continue to deliver for our investors, thanks to our expertise in all aspects of the cannabis industry including cultivation, extraction and retailing. And we provide top-level, comprehensive support in compliance, training, data-tracking, marketing and financing to give our array of subsidiary companies and outside startups the tools to succeed.”
Formed in 2015, Cliintel Capital Management Group has quickly become an established presence in the multibillion-dollar cannabis industry with its diverse portfolio of companies operating in Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Its flagship brand is The ClearTM, one of the most widely recognized names in the booming cannabis concentrates and vaporizer markets. The ClearTM product line features top-selling THC and CBD vaporizer cartridges, dabables, edibles and topicals, as well as state-of-the-art vaporizer hardware.
Other top holdings and licensing partners of CCMG include Cannabis Industry Institute (operations and compliance training); Subtle Escape (packaging and vaporizer hardware); Subtle Relief (CBD distribution); Redwood Investment Partners, DBA Bonsai Cultivation (wholesale cannabis production); and Clear Colorado Group (Colorado licensee of The ClearTM products).
“The private equity structure of Cliintel Capital Management Group and its QII fund designation offers a tremendous opportunity to invest in a professionally-managed venture capital fund that holds minority interest in existing licensees, which is something no other firm currently offers, to our knowledge,” Mr. Batenburg continued. “This approach puts CCMG in a unique position in the cannabis space, because it allows us to provide liquidity to successful operators.”
CCMG offers different active funds within its purview. For example, the Aggressive Growth Fund IV is a first-of-its-kind vertical conglomerate of symbiotic cannabis companies that are licensed legally through the fund with the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, the state’s cannabis regulatory agency. The companies under this fund include equipment and real estate leasing, packaging and licensed cultivation facilities, dispensaries and laboratories. This structure allows outside investors to own equity in state-licensed cannabis businesses while remaining passive unlicensed investors, limiting direct licensing exposure.
“The management team at CCMG has the financial and business expertise along with a proven track record inside the cannabis space that is second to none in private equity,” Mr. Batenburg concluded.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Shawna McGregor at CCMG’s agency of record, Grasslands: 917-971-7852 or shawna@mygrasslands.com.
About Cliintel Capital Management Group, LLC
Cliintel Capital Management Group, LLC (CCMG) is a premier cannabis venture capital and consulting firm that provides funding to companies in the heavily regulated industries of finance and cannabis. CCMG is the first firm to receive Qualified Institutional Investor (QII) designation by the State of Colorado for its investment fund. CCMG’s portfolio companies provide fee-based operational management to subsidiaries and its consultancy clients. The shared resource model allows CCMG to mitigate expenses, while its consultancy enables the evaluation of potential acquisitions. Major verticals include cultivation, extraction, hardware, dispensaries, distribution, media, compliance, training, data, marketing and financing.”
Media Contact:
Shawna McGregor
Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency
shawna@mygrasslands.com
917-971-7852
