A stock delisting and a one-year stint on the grey market was not a death sentence for Advanced Cannabis Solutions.
Shares of the Denver-based company that leases real estate to marijuana grow operations and dispensaries resumed trading this week under the symbol “CANN.”
“It’s been a big battle for the management and really fighting very hard for our shareholders,” said Robert Frichtel, chief executive officer of Advanced Cannabis Solutions, which does business as General Cannabis Corp.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission initiated a stop-trade order on Advanced Cannabis Solutions in March 2014 amid a concern that affiliates and shareholders “engaged in unlawful distribution of securities.” Three months earlier, Advanced Cannabis Solutions announced it secured a $30 million credit facility, news that caused the stock to skyrocket 466 percent.
The halt triggered an auto delisting, Frichtel said, adding that the firm had to go through a lengthy reinstatement process with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
In the last year, Advanced Cannabis Solutions continued to pursue business activities, moved its operations to Denver from Colorado Springs, acquired security firm Iron Protection Group, and sued an investor who allegedly caused the stock to be delisted.
The suit claimed that investor Stephen Calandrella bought and sold more than 10 percent of Advanced Cannabis Solutions’ stock without alerting the company.
That suit was settled earlier this year and Calandrella agreed to transfer more than 1.1 million shares back to the company.
The lawsuit as well as internal actions made to increase transparency and strengthen the company’s board helped to get the stock trading again, Frichtel said
