Vireo Growth and MWBE-Led Ace Venture Announce Strategic Partnership

NEW YORK – Vireo Growth Inc. has struck a deal with minority and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) of Ace Venture of NY to hand over controlling ownership of its long-running medical Cannabis operations in the state.

The agreement gives the New York-based MWBE a 51% interest in Vireo Health of New York. The step creates what the companies describe as the first scaled social equity operator built around the state’s original minority-owned vertically integrated medical Cannabis license.

Vireo, which has been operating in the regulated medical Cannabis industry in New York since officially securing its license in July 2015, will keep providing operational support, compliance oversight, product quality control, and day-to-day management. John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo, and Steven Acevedo, founder of Ace Venture, will both sit on the board that governs the New York unit.

Ace Venture of NY, LLC is led by lifelong New Yorker Steven Acevedo, who has worked in television and film production and built ties across community organizations, neighborhoods, and business circles. In a statement, Acevedo said the state’s Cannabis sector should mirror the people it serves and praised the partnership for matching local credibility with established operating strength. He credited Governor Kathy Hochul, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, and Senator Liz Krueger for their work on equity measures.

Mazarakis called the arrangement a way to bring strong local leadership into the market while keeping the platform aligned with state rules and growth targets. Vireo Health of New York already runs cultivation, manufacturing, and retail sites developed over more than a decade in the medical program.

The transaction reflects ongoing efforts in New York to blend social equity requirements with the need for experienced operators. Medical Cannabis remains a smaller but stable part of the state market, while adult-use rules continue to draw attention to capital access and compliance costs for equity participants. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed in the announcement, and the companies noted that regulatory approvals will still be required.