Jenkintown-based TerraVida Holistic Centers, a women-owned and operated medical cannabis company, has been acquired by Chicago-based Verano Holdings in a deal valued at 135 million, writes Sam Wood for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

TerraVida operates the state’s three top-performing dispensaries in Abington, Malvern, and Sellersville. The cash and stock deal also includes the company’s Jenkintown headquarters and its state-issued permits to operate three additional retail storefronts in Pennsylvania.

Chris Visco, the chain’s founder and president, will remain with the company as an executive who will oversee retail operations. She will also assume managerial control over Verano’s three Zen Leaf stores in Pennsylvania, which will be rebranded under the TerraVida umbrella.

The two companies have been working on the deal for the last two months. Visco, who has been fighting cancer during the negotiations, said she was approached by six companies that were interested in acquiring TerraVida.

“I chose Verano because they believe in the same things I do,” she said.

According to Visco, the merged company wants to acquire a Pennsylvania permit to grow cannabis on a large scale in the future.

“We’re hopeful that we will become vertically integrated in the state at some point,” she said.

Read more about TerraVida at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.