Cannabis Deals Multiply and Shrink in Q3 2026, Viridian Finds

LOS ANGELES – The Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker counted 74 transactions in the third quarter: 28 in M&A, 27 in equity and 19 in debt. That is the most in any quarter since early 2023 and more than the first two quarters combined (67). July’s 28 deals were the most in any month since February 2023, followed by 25 in August and 21 in September. April, the month the medical Schedule III order took effect, was the low point with four.

Capital totaled $879 million, nearly identical to the $890 million of Q3 2025. The average deal shrank to roughly $12 million, from about $41 million in the first quarter and $21 million in the second. For the first nine months, Viridian counted 141 transactions worth $3.10 billion, up from 99 deals and $2.07 billion a year earlier. It is the only year in the report’s five-year comparison in which both count and capital rose, though both remain well below 2022, when 341 transactions and $7.65 billion were recorded.

M&A

Disclosed M&A value reached $633 million on 28 deals. Two transactions supplied about three-quarters of it. Pending Curaleaf’s hostile bid for Aurora Cannabis began at $272 million in August and was raised 25% on October 6, to 0.4013 Curaleaf shares plus $1.00, or about $5 [capped at $6] per share. It needs more than half of Aurora’s shares tendered and expires December 4.

Vireo Growth’s $208 million purchase of FarmaceuticalRx and three related Ohio businesses is paid in about 11 million Vireo shares, in three installments with a clawback. It adds eight Ohio dispensaries, and Vireo’s chief executive is among the sellers of one of the four businesses. Vireo has announced eight acquisitions this year, including an all-stock merger with Planet 13 that adds 36 dispensaries and staged purchases of Cannabist assets in five states. Cresco Labs paid $50 million in cash plus a seller note for nine PharmaCann dispensaries in Pennsylvania.

The remaining eight priced deals added roughly $153 million. Eighteen of the quarter’s 28 deals gave no price, and for the year only 19 of 67 (28%) did, the lowest share of the total in five years. Cultivation and retail made up 41 of the 67 targets, and public companies were behind 37 of the deals.

Distress supplied assets. Cannabist sold its Maryland business under Canadian creditor protection, SNDL completed a foreclosure on Parallel’s 56 stores after extinguishing about $842 million of debt, and PharmaCann’s Maryland licenses go to auction December 7.

Germany drew three medical-Cannabis deals, and several companies moved into other businesses, including a merger of Skye Bioscience with fibrosis developer Redx and cbdMD’s purchase of Twinlab’s supplement brands.

Equity

Equity events rose to 27 from three in Q2 2026, but Cannabis proceeds were $32.8 million. Nine of the 15 raises with a disclosed amount were under $1 million. The largest were Grown Rogue’s $10 million preferred investment in its New York venture and Lexaria’s $5.9 million warrant exercise.

The quarter’s three largest financings funded non-Cannabis businesses: BetterLife Pharma’s $100 million offering for psychedelic-derived therapeutics, Skye’s $125 million package and the Mentari financing behind InMed’s merger. Viridian counts them as events but leaves them out of proceeds, as it does for at-the-market programs at Glass House, Innovative Industrial Properties and Optimi.

For the year, equity rose to $142 million, 9% below last year despite 37 events against 26. Organigram’s $47.6 million placement in February is still the largest raise, and 21 of the 37 events came from Canadian issuers.

Debt

Debt remains 61% of 2026 capital ($1.90 billion across 37 deals), but 89% of it was raised before July. The first quarter’s refinancings (Curaleaf $500 million, Verano $195 million, Canopy $162 million, Jushi $160 million) and Innovative Industrial Properties’ $402.5 million exchangeable notes in June make up 75% of the year’s total.

The third quarter closed 19 deals for $213 million, about 73% below the $782 million of a year earlier, when Cresco Labs priced a $325 million refinancing. No large operator came to market, and the five largest facilities supplied 93% of the total.

Bank of Montreal (BMO) acted as agent or lender on three of them, including Vireo’s $65 million revolver at 1.75 to 2 points over SOFR, High Tide’s CA$40 million facilities and Cannara’s, which grew to CA$80 million. Early-year bond deals carried coupons of 10.5-12.5%. Viridian cautions that Vireo’s loan, with non-Cannabis subsidiaries as borrowers, is not directly comparable. Real-estate credit supplied most of the rest, including Chicago Atlantic’s $62.5 million second-lien notes on Koach’s retail properties.

Policy & Markets

The DEA hearing on adult-use rescheduling closed July 15, and the judge stayed the case on September 29 to consider a September 23 GAO report, with no recommendation date. The D.C. Circuit declined on September 9 to pause the April order moving medical Cannabis to Schedule III. Green Thumb’s second-quarter tax expense fell to $12.5 million from $21.6 million, and Curaleaf booked a $38.8 million tax benefit. Treasury has listed Section 280E guidance on its priority plan without saying how operators should split medical and adult-use income. Trulieve alone carries a $583 million uncertain tax position tied to the rule.

The MSOS fund fell 10.7% in the quarter after a 42% gain in the second and was down 2.9% for the year at September 30. No U.S. operator joined a senior exchange during the quarter.

Ahead, Massachusetts voters decide Tuesday on repealing adult-use sales. Hemp rules take effect November 12 for synthetic cannabinoids and December 11 for natural ones. Viridian notes that public sources undercount private placements and smaller deals, so its totals are a floor.

Bottom Line

The data points to a market where capital is willing to move but not to commit at size. Operators are using stock, distressed assets and bank credit instead of large bond issues, and the drop in disclosed prices makes valuation harder to read. Investors should watch three things: whether the Aurora bid succeeds, how the Planet 13 and FarmaceuticalRx closings are financed, and when adult-use scheduling gets a date. Until those resolve, rising deal counts say more about appetite than conviction.

Source: Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker, Q3 2026 Year-to-Date Report