Ascend Wellness Holdings LLC announced an IPO debut for $125 million.

On Monday, Ascend Wellness Holdings LLC announced it filed for an initial public offering of up to $125 million. The company took up this plan as investor demand for U.S. marijuana firms continued to rise. New York City-based Ascend, one of the largest U.S.-based cannabis operators, said it has applied to list its Class A common stock on the Canadian Securities Exchange and for U.S. over-the-counter trading in a regulatory filing. 

The company’s business revolves around harvesting or selling marijuana. This limits the firm from being listed on the Nasdaq or NYSE as pot remains illegal at the federal level. AWH currently operates in five US states. The company posted nearly $144 million in revenue last year, and was profitable on an adjusted gross basis, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

AWH said, “Founded in 2018, the company has 13 open and operating retail locations, which it expects will expand to 20 by the end of the year. The expansion, however, is subject to factors including the regulatory environment and the COVID-19 pandemic.” Canaccord Genuity LLC is acting as a representative of the underwriters, the company said.

AWH’s filing places it among the first U.S. ‘multi-state operators’, or MSOs, to tap the public markets in what is expected to be a record year for cannabis debuts as key markets such as New York move towards legalization of recreational marijuana and banking reforms make progress in the country.