High Times has just announced their latest in a series of mergers and acquisitions: the Seattle, Washington-based DOPE Magazine. The acquisition was a $11.2 million deal, split between cash and stock in the rapidly growing High Times Media company.
Debuting almost eight years ago, the magazine’s name is an acronym for Defending Our Plant Everywhere. The ‘P’ also stands for ‘people,’ ‘patients,’ and ‘planet.’ In that short time, DOPE Magazine has accrued 481,000 social media followers and almost 600,000 monthly web visitors. DOPE Magazine also publishes eight location-specific print editions across six states: California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona.
“What DOPE Media has built in such a short time is not only impressive, but needed considering the difficult landscape and legislation brands are faced with today,” said High Times CEO Adam Levin. “We look forward to not only combining our resources but expanding them.”
DOPE Magazine was created by Dave Tran, James Zachondi, and Evan Carter. With the acquisition, all three founders, the CEO George Jage, and the magazine’s current staff, will be staying onboard.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome George [Jage], Dave [Tran] and their entire team to the High Times family of brands,” said Levin.
Like High Times, DOPE hosts cannabis trade shows and competitions. The DOPE Cup is held in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona.
“This is the perfect marriage of two like-minded businesses. As the largest cannabis consumer media company, High Times offers immense visibility across the country, and globe, like no one else in the space,” said George Jage. “Utilizing their expertise we will be able to rapidly expand our footprint across the country and offer state-specific advertising solutions at a speed that wouldn’t have been possible before.”
In June, High Times announced the acquisition of Culture Magazine and in April, their acquisition of Green Rush Daily was finalized.
