GOV POT BOILER IS OVER

Weed scandal settle

A legal stink over the price of a marijuana merger that had allegedly gotten an improper nudge from Gov. 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 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 the governor’s office pushed to force the deal through at a bargain price on Ascend Wellness’ behalf, after the company’s executives donated $15,000 to Hochul’s election campaign last fall.

A state Supreme Court judge had ruled on Feb. 9 that Hochul must answer a subpoena within 20 days to shed light on if her office pushed state regulators to approve the merger at Ascend’s urging.

As of early May, the governor — 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 over the documents, sources close to the situation said.

“We have been more than happy to cooperate and provide any documents necessary because we know they would show the truth: that these allegations are baseless,” a spokesperson for Hochul said.

The court wanted a status report on the case by Friday, and the lawsuit was moving to the depositions phase.

MedMen recently had shown interest in deposing Hochul.

“Ascend . . . began a campaign of political donations plainly directed at influencing . . . Hochul,” MedMen alleged.

$20,000 for Hochul

The suit alleged that in late October, two lobbying firms hired by Ascend “held fundraisers for Gov. Hochul . . . raising tens of thousands of dollars . . . including roughly $20,000 . . . from Ascend and its affiliates.” “Ascend has refused to answer written interrogatories regarding whether it communicated with Governor Hochul’s office,” MedMen added, alleging that the silence is “an apparent admission that Ascend did indeed engage in the political machinations MedMen has alleged.”

MedMen had specifically alleged that the deal should have been terminated because state officials were not scheduled to clear it before a Dec. 31 deadline, but that Hochul’s office pushed it through at the last minute to help Ascend.

In a statement disclosing the settlement, Ascend said last Wednesday that closing the deal was still a bargain.

“The revised total consideration of $88 million remains significantly below recent precedent transactions,” Ascend’s chief executive officer, Abner Kurtin said.

“We are thrilled to put this dispute behind us and look forward to the imminent closing of this transaction,” Kurtin continued