Hedgie takes $hot at reviving e-cig biz
Hedgie Jason Mudrick is hoping to breathe new life into a once-profitable e-cigarette brand.
The investor’s $1.6 billion Mudrick Capital Management took control of the recently reorganized NJOY brand after it was the lead investor in a $35 million capital raise.
The new financing, which was joined by Douglas Teitelbaum’s Homewood Capital, was announced late Thursday.
“While we expect NJOY to be a very profitable investment, I also believe NJOY could be good for society at large.” Mudrick told The Post.
E-cigarettes are perceived to be safer than traditional cigarettes because they deliver nicotine without the tar and other additives found in cigarettes.
If Mudrick succeeds in growing NJOY he will have produced a hit single that even Bruno Mars couldn’t manage,
The singer, along with noted tech investor Peter Thiel and others, invested in NJOY earlier but saw that money go up in smoke when the company last year filed for Chapter 11.
NJOY was hurt by the declining sales of its King line of disposable e-cigarettes as well as increased compliance costs due partly to stricter government regulations.
Although NJOY was sold to creditors at auction in November, it lacked enough cash to grow.
“I know a lot of people who have tried to quit smoking, and this is the only thing that has been successful for them,” said Mudrick, who is not a smoker.
With the new funding, NJOY plans to operate as a turnaround company and avoid the mismanagement that led to King’s disastrous product launch.