Israeli medical cannabis company InterCure Ltd. (TASE: INCR-L), which has a NIS 409 million market cap, today announced the expansion of its private placement from $12 million to $17.5 million through the addition of a new partner - WeWork founder Adam Neumann. Billionaire Gary Fegel, an associate of InterCure chairperson and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, led the round. The share price for the deal is still $1.20 (NIS 4.45 according to the company's calculations), compared with the current share price of NIS 4.95.
Neumann, 39, is an American-Israeli entrepreneur (he was born in Israel, spent part of his childhood here, and served in the army) who founded WeWork, the pioneer and leading company in shared workspaces. WeWork held a financing round in 2017 at a $21 billion company value. The company's revenue is estimated at $1 billion, and Neumann's personal wealth is estimated at $2.6 billion.
Neumann personally invested previously in activities such as the Selina chain of hostels, founded by two Israeli entrepreneurs in Panama, which has expanded into an international chain; EquityBee, a trading platform supporting high-tech employees seeking to sell their warrants; and others. Neumann has never previously mentioned medical cannabis as an investment target.
InterCure was a medical investment company up until six months ago, when it acquired Canndoc, one of the largest cannabis growers in Israel. The controlling shareholder in the company until completion of the current financing round is medical investor Alex Rabinovich (38%), together with Mordechai Ben-Shach (6%). Fegel will now become a party at interest in InterCure.
Canndoc, which is responsible for InterCure's cannabis activity, had a NIS 600,000 profit on NIS 6.1 million in revenue from activity in Israel in 2017. InterCure is preparing Canndoc for a Nasdaq IPO and overseas activity, whether through exports from Israel, if these are permitted, or by establishing a farm abroad.
InterCure's share price has skyrocketed 1,300% since the company entered the cannabis field.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 28, 2018
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