Other Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Note 11. Other Assets

Other assets consists of:

	December 31,		December 31,
	2023		2022
Equity investments	$	2,405	$	13,376
Debt security investment		6,750		7,820
Capitalized software		5,923		929
Other		88		524
Total	$	15,166	$	22,649

The Company records its equity investments without a readily determinable fair value, that are not accounted for under the equity method, at cost, with adjustments for impairment and observable price changes. The Company utilizes significant judgments in determining fair value of its equity and debt security investments that do not have an observable market price. Should assumptions underlying the determination of the fair values of the Company's equity and debt security investments change, it could result in material future impairment charges.

Equity Investments

In April 2021, the Company invested $8.7 million in Docklight Brands, Inc., a pioneering consumer products company with celebrated brands including Marley Natural® and Marley™. The Company has additional follow-on investment rights. As part of the investment, the Company has obtained exclusive U.S. distribution rights for Docklight’s Marley™ CBD topical products. In 2023, based on Docklight’s financial results and operating difficulties, a significant change in their business model and the decline in the revenue multiples for public companies comparable to Docklight, the Company deemed its investment in Docklight was fully impaired resulting in a loss of $8.7 million recorded in Investment loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income. Fair value for all periods presented was determined using a valuation derived from relevant revenue multiples (Level 3). Purchases of inventory from Docklight Brands, Inc. were $0.0 million and $0.1 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively. There were no amounts payable to Docklight Brands, Inc. at December 31, 2023 and 2022.

In October 2020, the Company invested $2.5 million to acquire a 20% stake in Wild Hempettes, LLC, a manufacturer of natural CBD cigarettes designed as the first cigarette-styled CBD pre-roll in the world. The Company has options to increase its stake to a 100% ownership position based on certain milestones. As part of the transaction, the Wild Hempettes joint venture was spun off from Crown Distributing LLC and formed as a vehicle for the Company to be the exclusive distributor of Hempettes™ to U.S. bricks and mortar retailers under a profit-sharing arrangement. Effective January 2023, the Company terminated its distribution agreement. The Company accounts for its 20% share of Wild Hempettes profit or loss using the equity method of accounting. In 2023, based on Wild Hempettes financial results, the Company deemed its investment in Wild Hempettes to be other-than-temporarily impaired resulting in a $2.2 million impairment charge included in investment loss for the year ending December 31, 2023. Fair value for the Company’s share of investment in Wild Hempettes was determined using a valuation derived from relevant revenue multiples (Level 3). The Company recorded investment losses including impairment charges of $2.3 million and $0.1 million for years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Purchases of inventory from Wild Hempettes was $0.0 million and $0.4 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively. There were no amounts payable to Wild Hempettes at December 31, 2023 and 2022. The Company has a $0.2 million receivable from Wild Hemp at December 31, 2023 for the return of product previously purchased and paid for.

In October 2020, the Company invested $15.0 million in dosist™ (“Dosist”), a global cannabinoid company, with an option to invest an additional $15.0 million on pre-determined terms over the twelve month period ending October 2021. The Company received a warrant exercisable for preferred shares of Dosist that would automatically be exercised upon the changing of certain federal cannabis laws in the United States, rescheduling cannabis and/or permitting the general cultivation, distribution and possession of cannabis. In 2021, based on the financial results of Dosist and the overall cannabinoid market, the Company deemed its investment was impaired resulting in a loss of $7.1 million recorded in investment loss for the year ended December 31, 2021. In 2022, after a contemplated sale of the assets of Dosist did not occur, Dosist entered into an agreement with a new buyer receiving the assets of Dosist for the assumption of its liabilities. As such, the Company considered its remaining investment in Dosist to be fully impaired and recorded an additional loss of $7.9 million in investment loss for the year ended December 31, 2022. Fair value was determined using a valuation derived from the contemplated purchase price (Level 3). There were no purchases of inventory from Dosist in 2023 or 2022.

In October 2020, the Company invested $1.8 million in BOMANI Cold Buzz, LLC (“BOMANI”), a manufacturer of alcohol-infused cold brew coffee. The Company received rights to receive equity in BOMANI in the event of an equity financing. There were no purchases of inventory from BOMANI in 2023 or 2022. There were no amounts payable to BOMANI at December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The Company has a minority ownership position in Canadian American Standard Hemp (“CASH”). CASH is headquartered in Warwick, Rhode Island, and manufactures cannabidiol isolate (“CBD”) developed through highly efficient and proprietary processes. In October 2020, CASH merged with Real Brands, Inc. (“Real Brands”), an over the counter traded shell company. CASH continued business under the Real Brands name. The Company maintained its ownership position in Real Brands subsequent to the merger. In 2022, as a result of a significant decline in the enterprise value, the Company determined that the fair value of the investment was $0.0 and fully impaired the investment. The impairment resulted in a loss of $4.3 million which is recorded in investment loss for the year ended December 31, 2022. There were no purchases of inventory from Real Brands in 2023 or 2022. There were no amounts payable to Real Brands at December 31, 2023 and 2022.

In December 2018, the Company acquired a minority ownership position in General Wireless Operations, Inc. (d/b/a RadioShack; “RadioShack”) from 5G gaming LLC for $0.4 million. There were no amounts payable to General Wireless Operations, Inc. at December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Debt Security Investment

In July 2021, the Company invested $8.0 million in Old Pal Holding Company LLC (“Old Pal”). In July 2022, the Company invested an additional $1.0 million in Old Pal. The Company invested in the form of a convertible note which includes additional follow-on investment rights. The accrued interest of $0.2 million from July 2021 to July 2022 was rolled into the convertible note in July 2022 resulting in a total investment of $9.2 million. Old Pal is a leading brand in the cannabis lifestyle space that operates a non-plant touching licensing model. The convertible note bears an interest rate of 3.0% per year and matures July 31, 2026. Interest and principal not paid to date are receivable at maturity. Old Pal has the option to extend the maturity date in one-year increments. The interest rate is subject to change based on Old Pal reaching certain sales thresholds. The weighted average interest rate on the convertible note was 3.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023. Old Pal has the option to convert the note into shares once sales reach a certain threshold. The conditions required to allow Old Pal to convert the note were not met as of December 31, 2023. Additionally, the Company has the right to convert the note into shares at any time. The Company has classified the debt security with Old Pal as available for sale. The Company reports interest income on available for sale debt securities in interest income in our Consolidated Statements of Income. Quarterly, we perform a qualitative assessment to determine if the fair value of the investment could be less than the amortized cost basis. In 2022, the Company performed a quantitative assessment of the fair value of the investment. The fair value as of December 31, 2022 was determined to be $7.9 million based on a Monte Carlo simulation (Level 3). The Company determined that the impairment was a result of credit related factors and, as such, recorded an allowance for credit losses of $1.4 million which is included in investment loss for the year ended December 31, 2022. In 2023, based on a subsequent quantitative assessment of the fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation, the Company determined the fair value to be $6.9 million and recorded an additional allowance for credit losses of $1.3 million which is included in investment loss for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company has recorded accrued interest receivable of $0.1 million and $0.1 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, in other current assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.