Vireo to Acquire FLUENT in All-Stock Deal

LOS ANGELES – Vireo Growth Inc. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to absorb FLUENT Corp. in an all-stock transaction, a deal that, if approved, would make Vireo the third-largest operator in medical-only Florida’s multibillion-dollar Cannabis market.

Under the terms of the definitive arrangement agreement, FLUENT shareholders will receive 0.0705359 of a Vireo subordinate voting share for each FLUENT share held. Vireo has also arranged to convert about $30 million of FLUENT’s outstanding debt into equity as part of the deal. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2026, subject to court approval, regulatory clearances, and other customary conditions.

Combined, Vireo expects the merged platform to operate approximately 74 retail stores and roughly 144,000 square feet of cultivation and production canopy in Florida, subject to regulatory approval in each market. Only Trulieve [with 168 dispensaries] and Verano [operating under the MÜV brand with 85] would hold more Florida locations once the deal closes. That scale would place Vireo among the larger players in the state’s limited-license medical Cannabis sector. FLUENT brought in around $71.5 million in Florida revenue last year.

John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo, said the acquisition expands the company’s reach in a key market. FLUENT’s leadership noted that the deal offers its shareholders participation in a larger, better-capitalized operator that already works in 10 states.

FLUENT operates in Florida, New York, and Texas, with 35 active retail locations, eight cultivation and manufacturing facilities, and approximately 650 employees. In New York, the company sells wholesale under the ENTOURAGE brand. Those out-of-state operations come along with the deal, giving Vireo additional footholds in two markets it does not currently dominate.

Vireo’s acquisition pace in 2026 reflects a broader dynamic in the U.S. Cannabis industry: operators with access to capital, even non-cash capital like stock, are accumulating market position while debt-pressured competitors find their options narrowing. Florida’s medical-only framework, built around a fixed pool of licensed operators, amplifies that dynamic. Every dispensary acquired is one that cannot simply be replicated by a new entrant.

For now, the deal signals where the industry’s center of gravity is moving: toward operators who can absorb debt, trade stock, and build scale in states where the license count is capped and the competition is finite. Florida, with its medical-only market and tens of billions in potential revenue, remains the prize. Vireo is staking a very large claim to it.

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