Cannabis technology company BLAZE Solutions, Inc. announced Tuesday it has acquired Vancouver-based dispensary POS software company Greenline, becoming one of the few cannabis operations software systems in both Canada and the U.S.
“The acquisition allows BLAZE to better serve its international clients, while also enabling the Company to gain experience operating in Canada's federally regulated marketplace,” stated the company in a press release.
"Acquiring Greenline adds value to prospective clients by giving them the ability to expand their footprint into the U.S. or Canada using the same software provider," said BLAZE CEO Chris Violas. "This is essential for increasingly sophisticated cannabis retailers in states near the border like Washington, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine."
Greenline CEO Albert Kim recalled meeting Violas. "When I met Chris, I knew that his business was up to some big things and that we had an aligned vision of the future," said Kim. "Our mission has always been to help cannabis retailers grow, and this acquisition allows us to do so at a much larger scale."
A Win-Win Association
The acquisition of Greenline provides an added benefit for BLAZE clients looking to expand their reach into a new market using the existing platform, while additionally providing Greenline operators the benefit of BLAZE's comprehensive, compliance-focused operations software.
"This acquisition is important to our goals of expanding beyond U.S. borders. While the Canadian market is federally legal, there are still nuances that we need to consider. Acquiring Greenline allows us to shorten the learning curve," Violas said.
"As we move toward a nationwide market in the U.S., BLAZE wants to have experience in a federally regulated market to better serve our clients when legalization becomes a reality. This is the first step in our global plan to become the operating system for the cannabis business worldwide," Violas added.
Increased innovation
BLAZE will roll out this acquisition gradually over the next six months. Both BLAZE and Greenline will retain their current organizational structures and respective C-level leadership.
Greenline's Canadian retailers should not expect to see any immediate changes with this acquisition but can expect to see increased innovation moving forward as part of the BLAZE family.
Photo by Mark OFlynn on Unsplash.
