Charlotte’s Web, Elixinol offerings reflect growing success of CBD market

Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. became a public company in 2018, highlighting a milestone event in the rapidly growing cannabidiol (CBD) or “hemp extracts” market in North America.

The company completed an initial public offering (IPO) in Canada that raised net proceeds of US$71.5 million.

Charlotte’s Web (CSE: CWEB) is not the only CBD-based company that attracted investors in 2018. Elixinol Global Limited (ASX: EXL) announced raising A$40 million (US$28.7 million) in a secondary offering.

The funds raised by both companies reflect the growing demand for CBD. Revenues in the industry are soaring. According to Hemp Business Journal, the market for hemp-derived CBD generated $390 million for 2018 in the United States.

Adding to the industry’s momentum: passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

The new law is expected to attract institutional investors and make it easier for businesses like credit card merchants and advertisers to forge relationships with the hemp industry without the fear of prosecution from the federal government.

Patrick Rea is co-founder and CEO of CanopyBoulder, a seed-stage business accelerator and venture fund for ancillary cannabis start-ups.

In a late October interview before the Farm Bill was passed, when asked what might result from passage of the legislation, Rea replied, “Institutional capital that has stayed away from hemp, CBD and cannabis would be unleashed.”

And as more capital flows into the market, Charlotte’s Web and others are eying expansion outside the United States—demonstrating CBD’s increasing prominence as a global player in the food and supplement ingredients marketplace.

This is an excerpt from the article, “Charlotte’s Web, Elixinol offerings reflect growing success of CBD market,” originally published in INSIDER’s CBD digital magazine. Download the digital magazine to read the complete article.