The race to be the first cannabis company to list on one of the major stock exchanges is over.
The New York Stock Exchange has approved the initial public offering of Innovative Industrial Properties, a real estate investment trust that plans to invest in medical marijuana properties. Since marijuana is still federally illegal, the New York Stock Exchange could be breaking its own requirement not to list companies that aren’t in compliance with the law.
This is why most marijuana companies are publicly traded at the Over-The-Counter market, where there is little concern over a company’s business as long as it files the proper paperwork. That’s not the case at the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, both of which conduct strenuous reviews of potential clients. Neither would comment on this story.
Year-to-date, IPOs are down 42% from last year. This decline in business has affected both exchanges. Could the exchanges be willing to ease their rules in order to bring in new business? [Read More @ Forbes]