International cannabis company Clever Leaves will be listed on the NASDAQ (NASDAQ:NDAQ) as a result of its agreement with the Schultze Special Purpose Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SAMA). According to a company statement, SAMA and Clever Leaves will combine and become a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ.

Kyle Detwiler, CEO of Clever Leaves said, “The SAMA team possesses significant experience assisting companies similar to Clever Leaves and will be highly additive as we work to advance our commercialization efforts, further develop and broaden our brand portfolio, and expand our operations and distribution channels. As a result of our low-cost, pharmaceutical-grade cannabis cultivation platform and effective distribution network, Clever Leaves is favorably positioned to experience aggressive growth in the rapidly expanding global medicinal cannabis industry. Strengthening our balance sheet and listing on NASDAQ would be important achievements for our company as we are eager to accelerate the commercialization of our high-quality products and to expand our distribution into markets around the world.”

Clever Leaves has ownership in two medical cannabis distribution companies in Germany as well as a branded nutraceutical producer and distributor in the US and is currently distributing non-cannabis products.  The company’s investments are anticipated to drive sales growth in rapidly expanding cannabis markets within Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and South America. Clever Leaves also recently secured a regional supply agreement with Canopy LATAM Corporation, a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation.

George J. Schultze, Chairman, and CEO of SAMA, said, “Clever Leaves has earned its industry-leading market position through its high-quality genetics capability and highly scalable cultivation, and extraction capacity. Moreover, the leveragability of its pre-existing distribution infrastructure, unique GMP certification, and disruptive low-cost model bring us great enthusiasm about its future prospects.”

Clever Leaves’ shareholders will own a majority of the equity in the combined public company. SAMA’s cash balances, currently in excess of $130 million, would be used primarily to fund the combined company’s near-term operating expenses, capital expenditures, working capital, and potential M&A opportunities.

The company has successfully developed low-cost, pharmaceutical-grade cannabis cultivation and extraction platform, operating under Colombian Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for cannabis production. Clever Leaves is also in the process of becoming one of the few cannabis companies in the world, and the only cannabis company in Latin America, to be granted a European Union Good Manufacturing Practice certification for extracts, subject to the successful completion of the certification process. The

Clever Leaves currently cultivates in over 1.9 million square feet of greenhouses. Clever Leaves employs a staff of approximately 500 globally and has raised approximately $120 million of capital to date, including substantial debt and equity investments from leading institutional investors with a demonstrated track record in the cannabis sector.