v3.19.3
Business Operations and Organization
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
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”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on May 2, 2018. Greenlane is a holding company that was formed for the purpose of completing an underwritten initial public offering (“IPO”) of shares of its Class A common stock (as defined below) and other related Transactions (as defined below) in order to carry on the business of Greenlane Holdings, LLC (the “Operating Company”), the predecessor of Greenlane for financial reporting purposes. The Operating Company was organized under the laws of the state of Delaware on October 28, 2015, and is based in Boca Raton, Florida. As the sole manager of the Operating Company, Greenlane operates and controls all the business and affairs of the Operating Company, and through the Operating Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, conducts its business. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company” refer to Greenlane Holdings, Inc., and its consolidated subsidiaries, including the Operating Company. The authorized shares of Greenlane consist of (i) Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Class A common stock”); (ii) shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class B common stock); (iii) shares of Class C common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class C common stock,” and together with the Class A common stock and the Class B common stock, the “Common Stock”); and (iv) shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. See “Initial Public Offering and Organizational Transactions,” below for the description of the IPO and the Transactions (as defined below) completed in April 2019.
The Operating Company has been determined to be the predecessor for accounting purposes and, accordingly, the condensed consolidated financial statements for periods prior to the IPO and the related Transactions have been adjusted to combine the previously separate entities for presentation purposes. Amounts for the period from January 1, 2018 through September 30, 2018 and from January 1, 2019 through April 22, 2019 presented in the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes to the condensed financial statements herein represent the historical operations of the Operating Company. The amounts as of September 30, 2019 and for the period from April 23, 2019 through September 30, 2019 reflect the consolidated operations of the Company.
The Company, through its ownership of the Operating Company, holds investments in several companies that merchandise vaporizers and other products in the United States and Canada. Through its operating subsidiaries, the Company distributes to retailers through its wholesale operations and to consumers through its e-commerce activities. The Company operates four distribution centers in the United States and two distribution centers in Canada.
Initial Public Offering and Organizational Transactions
On April 23, 2019, Greenlane completed its IPO of 6,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, which was comprised of 5,250,000 shares of Class A common stock sold by Greenlane and 750,000 shares sold by certain selling stockholders (comprised of Aaron LoCascio, Greenlane’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Schoenfeld, Greenlane’s Chief Strategy Officer, and an affiliated entity of Messrs. LoCascio and Schoenfeld), in each case at a public offering price of $17.00 per share. In addition, Greenlane issued 3,547,776 shares of Class A common stock to the holders of convertible notes upon conversion of such convertible notes at a settlement price equal to 80% of the IPO price. On April 29, 2019, the underwriters purchased an additional 450,000 shares of Class A common stock from selling stockholders pursuant to the exercise of their option to purchase additional shares in the IPO. Greenlane did not receive any proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock by the selling stockholders. The sale of shares of Class A common stock by Greenlane generated aggregate net proceeds to Greenlane, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses paid by Greenlane, of approximately $79.5 million. Greenlane contributed all of the net proceeds to the Operating Company in exchange for a number of common units of the Operating Company (“Common Units”) equal to the number of shares of Class A common stock sold by Greenlane in the IPO at a price per Common Unit equal to the IPO price per share of Class A common stock. After giving effect to the IPO and the related Transactions and the use of the net proceeds from the IPO, Greenlane owns approximately 23.9% of the Operating Company’s outstanding Common Units. As a result of the IPO, Mr. Schoenfeld and Jacoby & Co. Inc, an affiliated entity of Mr. Schoenfeld and Aaron LoCascio, collectively control approximately 83.0% of the combined voting power of Greenlane’s common stock as a result of their ownership of Greenlane’s Class C common stock, which are issued on a three-to-one basis with the number of Common Units owned and each share of common stock is entitled to one vote all matters submitted to a vote of Greenlane’s stockholders.
As a result of the IPO and the Transactions, Greenlane became the sole manager of the Operating Company and its principal asset is Common Units of the Operating Company. As the sole manager of the Operating Company, Greenlane operates and controls all of the business and affairs of the Operating Company, and through the Operating Company and its subsidiaries, conducts its business. Although Greenlane has a minority economic interest in the Operating Company, Greenlane has the sole voting interest in, and controls the management of, the Operating Company, and has the obligation to absorb losses of, and receive benefits from, the Operating Company, that could be significant. Greenlane has determined that, as a result of the Transactions, the Operating Company is a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and that Greenlane is the primary beneficiary of the Operating Company. Accordingly, pursuant to the VIE accounting model, beginning in the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2019, Greenlane consolidated the Operating Company in its consolidated financial statements and reports a non-controlling interest related to the Common Units held by the members of the Operating Company (other than the Common Units held by Greenlane) on its consolidated financial statements. Greenlane has a board of directors and executive officers but has no employees. All of the Company’s assets are held by, and all of its operations are conducted through, the Operating Company. All of the Company’s employees are employed by the Operating Company.
In connection with the closing of the IPO, Greenlane and the Operating Company consummated the following organizational transactions (collectively, the “Transactions”):
● The Operating Company adopted and approved the Third Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of the Operating Company (the “Operating Agreement”), which converted each member’s existing membership interests in the Operating Company into Common Units, including unvested membership interests and profits interests into unvested Common Units, and appointed Greenlane as the sole manager of the Operating Company;
● Greenlane amended and restated its certificate of incorporation to, among other things, provide for Class A common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock;
● Greenlane issued, for nominal consideration, one share of Class B common stock to its non-founder members for each Common Unit they owned and issued, for nominal consideration, three shares of Class C common stock to its founder members for each Common Unit they owned;
● Greenlane issued and sold 3,547,776 shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the convertible notes at a settlement price equal to 80% of the IPO price;
● Greenlane issued and sold 1,200,000 shares of its Class A common stock to its members upon exchange of an equal number of Common Units, which shares were sold by the members as selling stockholders in the IPO, including 450,000 shares issued pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares;
● Greenlane issued and sold 5,250,000 shares of its Class A common stock to the purchasers in the IPO, and used all of the net proceeds received from the IPO to acquire Common Units from the Operating Company at a purchase price per Common Unit equal to the IPO price per share of Class A common stock, less underwriting discounts and commissions, which Common Units, when added to the Common Units received from the selling stockholders, collectively represented approximately 15.4% of the Operating Company’s outstanding Common Units after the IPO;
● The members of the Operating Company continue to own their Common Units not exchanged for the shares of Class A common stock sold by them as selling stockholders in the IPO;
● Greenlane entered into (i) a Tax Receivable Agreement (the “TRA”) with the Operating Company and the Operating Company’s members and (ii) a Registration Rights (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with the Operating Company’s members who, assuming that all of the Common Units of such members are redeemed or exchanged for newly-issued shares of Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis, will own an aggregate of 31,918,891 shares of Class A common stock, representing approximately 89.4% of the combined voting power of all of Greenlane’s Common Stock. Although the actual timing and amount of any payments that Greenlane will make to the Operating Company’s members under the TRA will vary, Greenlane expects those payments may be significant.
Common Units are redeemable, subject to contractual restrictions, at the election of such members for newly-issued shares of Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis (and their shares of Class B common stock or Class C common stock, as the case may be, will be canceled on a one-to-one basis in the case of Class B common stock or three-to-one basis in the case of Class C common stock upon any such issuance). Greenlane has the option to instead make a cash payment equal to a volume weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each Common Unit redeemed (subject to customary adjustments, including for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassifications) in accordance with the terms of the Operating Agreement. Greenlane’s decision to make a cash payment upon a member’s redemption election will be made by its independent directors (within the meaning of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules) who are disinterested in such proposed redemption.
Greenlane’s corporate structure following the IPO, as described above, is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies when they undertake an initial public offering of their business. The Up-C structure allows the members of 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, for income tax purposes following the IPO. 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 the members may redeem their Common Units for shares of Greenlane's Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, or at Greenlane’s option, for cash, the Up-C structure also provides the members with potential liquidity that holders of non-publicly traded limited liability companies are not typically afforded.
Greenlane will receive the same benefits as its members because of its ownership of Common Units in an entity treated as a partnership, or “pass-through” entity, for income tax purposes. As Greenlane redeems additional Common Units from the Operating Company’s members under the mechanism described above, Greenlane will obtain a step-up in tax basis in Greenlane’s share of the Operating Company’s assets. This step-up in tax basis will provide Greenlane with certain tax benefits, such as future depreciation and amortization deductions that can reduce the taxable income allocable to Greenlane. Greenlane entered into the TRA with the Operating Company and each of the Operating Company’s members, which provides for the payment by Greenlane to the Operating Company’s members of 85% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, that Greenlane actually realizes (or in some cases, is deemed to realize) as a result of (i) increases in tax basis resulting from the redemption of Common Units and (ii) certain other tax benefits attributable to payments made under the TRA.
As a result of the completion of the Transactions, including the IPO:
● Greenlane is a holding company and its principal asset is the Common Units it holds in the Operating Company;
● Greenlane is the sole manager of the Operating Company and controls the business and affairs of the Operating Company and its subsidiaries;
● Greenlane’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the Operating Agreement require that (i) Greenlane at all times maintains a ratio of one Common Unit owned by Greenlane for each share of Class A common stock issued by Greenlane (subject to certain exceptions for treasury shares and shares underlying certain convertible or exchangeable securities), and (ii) the Operating Company at all times maintains (x) a one-to-one ratio between the number of shares of Class A common stock issued by Greenlane and the number of Common Units owned by Greenlane, (y) a one-to-one ratio between the number of shares of 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, and (z) a three-to-one ratio between the number of shares of Class C common stock owned by the founder members of the Operating Company and their affiliates and the number of Common Units owned by the founder members of the Operating Company and their affiliates;
● Greenlane owns 9,997,776 Common Units, representing approximately 23.9% of the economic interests in the Operating Company;
● The purchasers in the IPO (i) own 6,450,000 shares of Class A common stock, representing approximately 6.9% of the combined voting power of all of Greenlane’s Common Stock, (ii) own approximately 64.5% of the economic interest in Greenlane, and (iii) through Greenlane’s ownership of Common Units, indirectly hold approximately 15.4% of the economic interests in the Operating Company;
● The non-founder members of the Operating Company own (i) 5,988,485 Common Units, representing 14.3% of the economic interests in the Operating Company, and (ii) through their ownership of Class B common stock, approximately 6.4% of the voting power in Greenlane;
● The founder members of the Operating Company own (i) 25,930,406 Common Units, representing 61.9% of the economic interests in the Operating Company, and (ii) through their ownership of Class C common stock, approximately 83.0% of the voting power in Greenlane;
● The members of the Operating Company collectively (i) own Class B common stock and Class C common stock representing approximately 89.4% of the combined voting power of all of Greenlane’s common stock, and (ii) own 76.2% of the economic interests in the Operating Company, representing a direct interest through the members’ ownership of Common Units.
The following table sets forth the economic and voting interests of holders of Greenlane’s Common Stock as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q:
Class of Common Stock (ownership)
Total Shares (1)
Class A Shares (as converted) (2)
Economic Ownership in the Operating Company (3)
Voting Interest in Greenlane (4)
Economic Interest in Greenlane (5)
Class A (purchasers in the IPO) 6,450,000 6,450,000 15.4  % 6.9  % 64.5  %
Class A (former convertible note holders) (5)
3,547,776 3,547,776 8.5  % 3.8  % 35.5  %
Class B (non-founder members) 5,988,485 5,988,485 14.3  % 6.4  % —  %
Class C (founder members) 77,791,218 25,930,406 61.9  % 83.0  % —  %
Total 93,777,479 41,916,667 100.0% 100.0% 100.0  %
(1) Represents the total number of shares of a particular class of Greenlane's Common Stock held as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
(2) Represents the number of shares of Greenlane's Class A common stock that will be held outstanding assuming the exchange of all outstanding shares of Class B common stock and Class C common stock upon redemption of Common Units. Shares of Class B common stock and Class C common stock, as the case may be, will be canceled, without consideration, on a one-to-one basis in the case of the Class B common stock pursuant to the terms of the Operating Agreement.
(3) Represents the indirect economic interest in the Operating Company through the holders' ownership of Common Stock.
(4) Represents the aggregate voting interest in Greenlane through the holders' ownership of Common Stock. Each share of Class A common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock entitles its holder to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of Greenlane's stockholders.
(5) Represents shares of Class A common stock issued to the prior holders of convertible notes upon conversion of such convertible notes at a settlement price equal to 80% of the IPO price.