iAnthus Booked $6.294 Million for the Cheetah Vape Brand

iAnthus Capital Holdings booked $6.294 million of deal value for the Cheetah vape brand, after pitching the buy as $1.5 million in stock. The December 30, 2024 release priced the shares at $0.012 each, called extra cash “non-material,” and put Michael Piermont, Cheetah’s co-founder and chief executive, on the executive team as chief commercial officer.

The annual report later split that ticket into $2.0 million of performance cash, $1.167 million of stock at fair value, and a $3.127 million earnout running through April 1, 2028. Cheetah live resin carts were still on Illinois menus in 2026, and the company still named Cheetah among its brands in its second-quarter 2026 results.

The $1.5 Million Headline Hid a $6.294 Million Bill

iAnthus, which trades as IAN on the Canadian Securities Exchange and ITHUF in the United States, said it had asset purchase agreement with Cheetah Enterprises covering the wholesale business behind the Cheetah name. The public number was about $1.5 million of common shares, issued after close in three tranches, at a deemed $0.012 a share that the company called a premium to the market price then.

The same release tucked the rest of the price into “non-material” cash in four installments, plus earnout cash tied to EBITDA and other targets, payable at intervals through April 1, 2028. Canadian holding periods and a U.S. Regulation S exemption wrapped the paper. CSE approval was still required for the shares.

The 2025 annual report restated the deal as a purchase price of about $3.5 million, then showed a much larger fair-value stack once the earnout was booked. Cash that the release had waved off as non-material was $2.0 million, payable only if the brand hit performance marks, with any missed date pushed by at least 30 days and no more than 24 months after close.

HOW THE CHEETAH PRICE BROKE DOWN

The final purchase-price allocation for Cheetah put $4.690 million on trade names, intellectual property, and recipes, and $1.558 million on goodwill tied to the assembled workforce and expected synergies. Tangible net assets were thin: $45,000 of cash, $340,000 of receivables and prepaids, $6,000 of inventory, and a $42,000 lease right-of-use asset, against $301,000 of payables and $86,000 of other current liabilities, for $4.736 million of net assets before goodwill.

A Leaf Trade Operator Walked In With the Brand

Piermont did not arrive as a brand mascot. He had been chief revenue officer at Leaf Trade, a wholesale marketplace built for multi-state operators, and he was moving into iAnthus as chief commercial officer on day one of the Cheetah close.

LeafLink acquired Leaf Trade on November 26, 2024, 34 days before the Cheetah papers were signed. LeafLink said the combined marketplaces would handle nearly $9 billion a year in wholesale gross merchandise value, with Leaf Trade covering more than 25 states and the large-operator end of the trade. Artie Minson, LeafLink’s president and chief executive, called Leaf Trade the leader in the MSO and enterprise slice. Brian Ward, Leaf Trade’s chief executive, said his team had grown the business while reaching profitability.

That is the hire iAnthus paid for with cheap stock and a long earnout. A commercial operator who had just watched his last employer sell into the dominant B2B rail was now being asked to push Cheetah, and the rest of the iAnthus shelf, through the same kind of wholesale channel.

We are building a platform where bold brands can thrive, and Cheetah fits that mold perfectly. Cheetah’s innovative approach to the vape market mirrors the agility, precision, and speed with which we’re building iAnthus. This Acquisition gives us the momentum to win with consumers, expand into new markets, and bring top-industry talent into our organization.

Richard Proud, Chief Executive Officer, iAnthus, December 30, 2024 release

From day one, Cheetah’s mission has been about being fearless, fast, and innovative to our consumers, qualities that clearly align with iAnthus’ vision for the future of cannabis. We’re thrilled to join forces with a team that recognizes the power of brand authenticity, the impact of thinking outside the box, and the importance of staying ahead of the curve in this industry.

Michael Piermont, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cheetah, December 30, 2024 release

Proud’s line about talent sits next to a goodwill note that credits an assembled workforce. The earnout, paid in cash through April 1, 2028, keeps the sellers on the hook for Cheetah’s EBITDA after they have already taken iAnthus paper.

What iAnthus Bought in Illinois and Pennsylvania

The deal was an asset purchase, not a buyout of Cheetah Enterprises as a whole. iAnthus took the wholesale machinery behind cannabis distillate vaporizers sold under the Cheetah name in Illinois and Pennsylvania, and it left some assets behind.

WHAT TRANSFERRED WITH THE NAME

• The brand: Manufacture, marketing, and sale of cannabis distillate vaporizer products in Illinois and Pennsylvania under Cheetah, including premium live resin vapes the company said had already found Illinois buyers.
• The wholesale book: Substantially all assets used in that wholesale business, plus related liabilities iAnthus agreed to assume.
• The people signal: Piermont’s move into the chief commercial officer seat, with goodwill later assigned to the workforce that came with the brand.
• The legal wrappers: Cheetah Illinois, LLC and Cheetah Pennsylvania, LLC, both wholly owned, later appeared on the company’s subsidiary list.

iAnthus told investors the combination would lift its own sales and give Cheetah a wider pipe in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and, in 2025, other states. It already sold through more than 600 dispensaries, its own and others, in Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey by the end of 2025. Cheetah was a wholesale brand looking for that kind of door list, not a chain of stores.

Stores Went Out the Door While the Vape Came In

The Cheetah papers landed in a year when iAnthus was selling licensed shops and plants, not collecting them. The vape brand was a small inbound deal beside much larger outbound ones, paid in paper a recapitalization had already cheapened.

On June 24, 2022, iAnthus closed a recapitalization that handed secured and unsecured lenders about 97.25% of the equity, some 6.07 billion shares, and left legacy holders with 2.75%. New 8% secured notes of $99.7 million, plus unsecured notes, were set to mature on June 24, 2027. By March 31, 2026, the company reported a working-capital deficit of $21.9 million and an accumulated deficit of $1,389.8 million.

THE PORTFOLIO MOVES AROUND CHEETAH

1. February 23, 2024: Agrees to sell Nevada cultivation, production, and Las Vegas dispensary assets, leaving a buyer note that still showed $2.2 million outstanding at December 31, 2025.
2. September 27, 2024: Closes the sale of certain Massachusetts cultivation and manufacturing assets in Holliston for $3.0 million, $0.5 million of it cash at close and the rest in notes.
3. December 30, 2024: Signs the Cheetah asset purchase and names Piermont chief commercial officer.
4. February 14, 2025: Closes the sale of three Arizona dispensaries and two processing and cultivation sites for about $36.5 million, taking $15.8 million cash net of adjustments and booking a buyer note at a $13.5 million fair value, plus a $6.3 million deconsolidation gain.
5. August 12, 2026: Reports second-quarter results and a $2.5 million revolver from Gotham Green Partners affiliates, due June 27, 2027, earmarked for New York and Florida rather than the Illinois vape it had just bought.

Arizona alone, at about $36.5 million of stated consideration, dwarfed the entire Cheetah fair-value stack. The company was shrinking its map and using the same cheap stock, plus promises of later cash, to add a vape SKU and a commercial chief.

Cheetah Carts Are Still on Illinois Shelves

The brand did not vanish into a filing footnote. Illinois shops were still listing Cheetah live resin disposables in 2026, including a 1-gram Slurricrasher at Bud & Rita’s and a 2-gram Garlic Reserve Celtic Green all-in-one at Terrace Cannabis in Moline, priced at $154.55 with 72.05% THC. Those tickets are shop prices, not iAnthus guidance, but they show the name still moving through regulated retail.

iAnthus does not break out Cheetah sales on their own. The 2025 annual report did say Eastern Region revenue of $133.605 million included the new Cheetah line in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Company-wide revenue fell to $143.986 million from $167.567 million, a 14.1% drop, as the Western Region slid to $10.381 million from $39.014 million after Nevada came out of the numbers.

IANTHUS SALES MIX, 2025 VS. 2024

• iAnthus-branded products: $63.168 million in 2025, down from $84.904 million.
• Third-party branded products: $55.128 million, down from $64.506 million.
• Wholesale, bulk, and other: $25.690 million, up from $18.157 million.
• Second-quarter 2026: $35.3 million of revenue, a $14.4 million net loss, and $4.4 million of Adjusted EBITDA, with Cheetah still named on the brand list beside MPX, Anthologie, Black Label, Frūtful, Last Resort, Moodz, Sunshine State, and The Vault.

Wholesale, bulk, and other is the bucket where a distillate brand would land, and it rose by $7.533 million in 2025. That lift also reflects a company that sold stores and leaned harder on doors it did not own, so it is not a Cheetah scorecard. Eighteen months after close, Cheetah still does not travel as a consumer argument. The public trail is shop menus and the brand list in the earnings release, not a fight over flavor or hardware.

Cash Still Owed Through April 2028

By December 31, 2025, the $2.0 million of performance cash showed as paid. What remained was contingent consideration of $1.087 million due in 2026 and $2.319 million due in 2027, a $3.406 million tail against the $3.127 million earnout fair value booked at close. The last contractual earnout date is still April 1, 2028, with payments in cash, once a year, based on Cheetah EBITDA and other marks.

On August 12, 2026, while that tail was still open, iAnthus arranged a $2.5 million revolving line of credit from affiliates of Gotham Green Partners, LLC, at 12% simple interest, maturing June 27, 2027. The company said the money was for New York and Florida work, upgrades, and working capital. Gotham Green is a related party from the 2022 recap. The new line comes due about nine months before the last Cheetah earnout date, and it is not earmarked for the Illinois vape.

Cheetah carts were still for sale in Illinois. The cash clock on the sellers runs to April 1, 2028. The $2.5 million Gotham Green line comes due first, on June 27, 2027, for a different pair of states than the ones on the Cheetah label.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Did iAnthus Pay for the Cheetah Vape Brand?

The stated purchase price was about $3.5 million, made of $1.5 million of shares at a deemed $0.012 and about $2.0 million of performance cash, before counting the earnout. Fair value of all consideration, including the $3.127 million earnout, was $6.294 million. Missed cash installments can slide, but not more than 24 months after close.

Did iAnthus Buy Cheetah Enterprises or Only Brand Assets?

It bought assets, not the seller as a company. The purchase covered the wholesale business used to make, market, and sell Cheetah distillate vaporizers in Illinois and Pennsylvania, plus assumed liabilities, and it carved out unspecified excluded assets. After close the brand sat in Cheetah Illinois, LLC and Cheetah Pennsylvania, LLC.

Who Is Michael Piermont in the Cheetah Deal?

Piermont co-founded Cheetah and was its chief executive. He had been chief revenue officer at Leaf Trade, which LeafLink bought on November 26, 2024, and he joined iAnthus as chief commercial officer when Cheetah closed. The $1.558 million of goodwill was attributed to the assembled workforce and expected synergies, and that goodwill is not deductible for tax.

When Do Cheetah Earnout Payments End?

Earnout cash is due annually on Cheetah EBITDA, with the last payment on or before April 1, 2028. As of December 31, 2025, contingent consideration still payable was $1.087 million in 2026 and $2.319 million in 2027. The $4.690 million of Cheetah intangibles sits with other 2025 additions that had a 12-year weighted average remaining amortization period at year-end.

Are the Cheetah Deal Shares Freely Tradeable?

No. They were issued under a Canadian prospectus exemption with a holding period of four months and a day from each issuance date, and in the United States under Regulation S as restricted securities. They were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, and CSE approval was a condition of issuance.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of a completed cannabis-company transaction and related filings. It is informational only and is not investment advice, a solicitation to buy or sell iAnthus, Cheetah, or any other security, or a recommendation of any cannabis product. Readers who are considering an investment or a commercial relationship should consult a licensed financial adviser and, where product use is at issue, a qualified clinician familiar with state cannabis rules. Figures, brand listings, and payment schedules reflect the company releases and SEC filings cited here and can change with later reports, earnout tests, or shop pricing.