Multi-state operator (MSO) Jushi Holdings (JUSHF 7.91%) is a newer presence in the cannabis industry, but it's quickly eclipsed the growth and retail footprint of other more-established players, and isn't anywhere close to slowing down. In this Motley Fool Live segment, aired on Oct. 21, Fool.com contributor Rachel Warren interviews Jim Cacioppo, the CEO and founder of Jushi, about his plans for the company's growth.
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Rachel Warren: That actually leads me into my final question here. As more states are reforming their marijuana laws, plenty of new operators have been popping up to meet the surging demand. For investors with so many marijuana stocks to pick from, what can you share about your long-term vision for Jushi and how you plan to execute it?
Jim Cacioppo: Yes. Exactly. I think that it's a good follow-on to the last question. We're in seven states. Six of those states are, I talked about the big three, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Virginia. The next three or four that are now moving at a rapid pace as we close out. Massachusetts, we have a store there that that's $25 million. We did a great acquisition at three times cash flow, and then we have Ohio, which I explained to you with the growth in the retail. Illinois, the growth in the retail and will go vertical, and then Nevada, we just announced going vertical, but we have more growth there.
We have built-in bolt-on acquisitions which some are the best acquisitions. Why are those the best acquisitions? You already have the overhead in the state, you know the state, it's less risky and you get the best prices, and you know people. That's the best M&A [mergers and acquisitions], and that's pretty much an academic thing. This is not an original thought, and so it's a great thing. Then we'll pick up these other states, one at a time, maybe one or two a year, if we see the deals that work for us. If we like the sellers, because they're going to be shareholders. If we want them into our stock, do they want to be in our stock? It's like joining the family.
That's our vision, is to get like-minded people, take out these single-state operators. Very unlikely we do a multi-state deal or big deal quickly. We've looked at everybody, we've talked to almost everybody, and there's just a lot of cultural issues. There's a lot of overlap issues at this point with Jushi, and I think our shareholders, most importantly, are going to get a better deal if we do it in this fashion that I'm explaining. It's a classic, great business, growing like, no pun intended, the industry growing like a weed.
That's going to continue. Think of the beer industry, $200 billion of sales. The alcohol industry, tobacco industry. Cannabis industry will be there. It will continue growing like a weed, and then you have this company's that's adding all this value through taking a less liquid company. I think liquidity is pretty good and taking it to the top five or six, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. We're one billion, we'd like to be 10 billion. The investors are going to get a lot of accretion and a lot of liquidity, and we'll get that uptick overpriced as high or higher than anybody else, and now we're trading at a steep discount. That's the vision.
Warren: Well, Jim, thank you so much for coming on the show today and for sharing your insights and company story with our members. It has truly been a pleasure to have you on.
