It's capital-raising time for cannabis-centric real estate investment trust (REIT) Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR 1.25%). The company announced it will float $200 million worth of senior notes to bolster its finances.
Innovative has not yet provided the salient details of the notes, such as their interest rate and their maturity. It did say that it would retain the option of redeeming some or all of them at any time of its choosing, at the applicable redemption price.
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Innovative said it will utilize the proceeds "to invest in specialized industrial real estate assets that support the regulated cannabis industry that are consistent with its investment strategy, and for general corporate purposes." That's hardly surprising, as that's the core of the company's business.
REITs often use debt instruments to fund their property investments. Real estate is a capital-intensive sector, and companies in it require healthy amounts of fresh cash to keep growing their businesses. Meanwhile, interest rates are currently extremely low, so borrowing is cheap on a historical basis.
Innovative has done a good job of capitalizing on growth opportunities in the still-young legal marijuana industry. It more than doubled its total revenue on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter, with adjusted funds from operations (the standard profitability metric for REITs) shooting upward at a similar rate.
It is a particularly compelling business partner for marijuana companies, as its preference for sale-leaseback deals -- in which it buys properties, then immediately leases them back to the sellers -- offers them a quick and ready source of capital in an ever cash-starved industry.
Innovative closed Tuesday's trading session down by 1.6%, while the S&P 500 recorded a 0.9% decline.
