Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Business Operations and Organization

v3.23.1
Business Operations and Organization
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Business Operations and Organization BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND ORGANIZATION
Organization

Greenlane Holdings, Inc. (“Greenlane” and, collectively with the Operating Company (as defined below) and its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” ) was formed as a Delaware corporation on May 2, 2018. We are a holding company that was formed for the purpose of completing an underwritten initial public offering (“IPO”) of shares of our Class A common stock, $0.01 par value per share (the “Class A common stock”), in order to carry on the business of Greenlane Holdings, LLC (the “Operating Company”). The Operating Company was organized under the laws of the state of Delaware on September 1, 2015, and is based in Boca Raton, Florida. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company” refer to us, and our consolidated subsidiaries, including the Operating Company.

We merchandise premium cannabis accessories, child-resistant packaging, specialty vaporization solutions and lifestyle products in the United States, Canada Europe and Latin America, serving a diverse and expansive customer base with thousands of retail locations, licensed cannabis dispensaries, smoke shops, multi-state operators (“MSOs”), specialty retailers, and retail consumers through both our e-commerce platforms and our flagship Higher Standards store in New York City’s famed Chelsea Market.

We have been developing a world-class portfolio of our own proprietary brands (the "Greenlane Brands") that we believe will, over time, deliver higher margins and create long-term value for our customers and shareholders. Our wholly-owned Greenlane Brands includes Groove – our recently launched more affordable product line, Eyce – our innovative silicone pipes and accessories line, DaVinci – our best-in-class premium vaporizer brand, and Higher Standards – our premium smoke shop and ancillary product brand. We also have category exclusive licenses for the premium Marley Natural branded products, as well as the K.Haring branded products.
We are the sole manager of the Operating Company and our principal asset is Common Units of the Operating Company (“Common Units”). As the sole manager of the Operating Company, we operate and control all of the business and affairs of the Operating Company, and we conduct our business through the Operating Company and its subsidiaries. We have a board of directors and executive officers, but no employees. All of our assets are held and all of the employees are employed by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Operating Company.
We have the sole voting interest in, and control the management of, the Operating Company, and we have the obligation to absorb losses of, and receive benefits from, the Operating Company, that could be significant. We determined that the Operating Company is a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and that we are the primary beneficiary of the Operating Company. Accordingly, pursuant to the VIE accounting model, beginning in the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2019, we consolidated the Operating Company in our consolidated financial statements and reported a non-controlling interest related to the Common Units held by the members of the Operating Company (other than the Common Units held by us) on our consolidated financial statements.
On August 31, 2021, we completed our previously announced merger with KushCo Holdings, Inc. ("KushCo") and have included the results of operations of KushCo in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss from that date forward. In connection with the merger with KushCo, the Greenlane Certificate of Incorporation was amended and restated (the “A&R Charter”) in order to (i) increase the number of authorized shares of Greenlane Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Class B common stock”), from 10 million shares to 30 million shares in order to effect the conversion of each outstanding share of Class C common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Class C common stock”), into one-third of one share of Class B common stock, (ii) increase the number of authorized shares of Class A common stock from 125 million shares to 600 million shares, and (iii) eliminate references to the Class C common stock. Pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of March 31, 2021 (the "Merger Agreement") with KushCo, immediately prior to the consummation of the business combination, holders of Class C common stock received one-third of one share of Class B common stock for each share of Class C common stock held immediately prior to the closing of the merger.
Our corporate structure is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure. The Up-C structure allows the Operating Company to continue to realize tax benefits associated with owning interests in an entity that is treated as a partnership, or “pass-through” entity. One of these benefits is that future taxable income of the Operating Company that is allocated to its members will be taxed on a flow-through basis and therefore will not be subject to corporate taxes at the Operating Company entity level. Additionally, because a member may redeem their Common Units for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our option, for cash, the Up-C structure also provides the member with potential liquidity that holders of non-publicly traded limited liability companies are not typically afforded.
In connection with the IPO, we entered into a Tax Receivable Agreement (the “TRA”) with the Operating Company and the Operating Company’s members and a Registration Rights (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with the Operating Company’s members. The TRA provides for the payment by us to the Operating Company’s member(s) of 85.0% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, that we may actually realize (or in some cases, are deemed to realize) as a result of (i) the step-up in tax basis in our share of the Operating Company's assets resulting from the redemption of Common Units under the mechanism described above and (ii) certain other tax benefits attributable to payments made under the TRA. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, we have agreed to register the resale of shares of Class A common stock that are issuable to the Operating Company’s members upon redemption or exchange of their Common Units.

The A&R Charter and the Fourth Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of the Operating Company (the “Operating Agreement”) require that (a) we at all times maintain a ratio of one Common Unit owned by us for each share of our Class A common stock issued by us (subject to certain exceptions), and (b) the Operating Company at all times maintains (i) a one-to-one ratio between the number of shares of our Class A common stock issued by us and the number of Common Units owned by us, and (ii) a one-to-one ratio between the number of shares of our Class B common stock owned by the non-founder members of the Operating Company and the number of Common Units owned by the non-founder members of the Operating Company.
As of December 31, 2022, all Common Units of the Operating Company and Class B common stock had been exchanged for Class A common stock, and we owned 100% of the voting and economic interests in Greenlane through the holders' ownership of Class A common stock. See "Note 9 - Stockholder's Equity."