A legal stink over the price of a marijuana merger that had allegedly gotten an improper nudge from Gov. Kathy Hochul has been settled — with the acquirer forking over some extra green.
Boston-based cannabis retailer Ascend Wellness has agreed to pay an extra $15 million — hiking the purchase price by 20% to $88 million — to buy the MedMen pot dispensary chain’s New York assets, according to court filings.
The sweetener settles an explosive suit in which MedMen had alleged that Gov. Hochul’s office pushed to force the deal through at a bargain price on Ascend’s behalf — after Ascend’s executives donated $15,000 to her reelection campaign last fall.
A State Supreme Court judge had ruled Feb. 9 that Gov. Hochul needed to answer a subpoena within 20 days to shed light on whether her office pushed state regulators to approve the cannabis company merger at Ascend’s urging — and despite protests from MedMen, which is one of just 10 dispensaries licensed to sell medical marijuana in the state.
As of early May, Hochul — whose fast-tracking of the rollout of cannabis retailers last year had allegedly boosted MedMen’s value after it had agreed to sell its New York assets to Ascend, according to court papers — had not yet turned…
