# Splash Beverage Signs Letter of Intent to Merge With Medterra CBD
The non-binding deal would rebuild Splash Beverage Group as a cannabinoid wellness platform anchored by Medterra’s 2-million-customer base, with closing timed around the November federal hemp rules.
Author: CBDWorldNews Editorial Staff
Date: April 13, 2026
Splash Beverage Group (NYSE American: SBEV) has signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge with Medterra CBD, LLC, a move that would turn the struggling beverage company into a multi-brand cannabinoid operator ahead of the November federal compliance deadline. The companies announced the LOI on March 5 and have been working through due diligence since.
Medterra manufactures and distributes federally compliant cannabinoid wellness products and counts more than 2 million customers across the United States and international markets. The Irvine, California-based company sells tinctures, topicals, gummies, and pet products through its direct channel and national retail partners including CVS and Kroger.
Terms and Timeline
Splash has not disclosed the financial terms of the proposed transaction. The LOI is non-binding and subject to definitive agreement, diligence, shareholder approvals, and customary closing conditions. The combined entity would rebrand around cannabinoid wellness and regulated consumer health, according to the company’s March 5 announcement.
Splash Beverage reported revenue of $4.7 million for the third quarter of 2025, down from $6.2 million a year earlier, as its Salt Tequila and Copa di Vino portfolios lost retail distribution. The company has been exploring strategic alternatives since mid-2025. Medterra, by contrast, has been profitable at the brand level and held roughly 4% of the U.S. CBD retail share in 2025, according to BDSA data.
“The combination gives Medterra a public currency and gives Splash a category with real unit economics. Neither company had a clear path forward on its own.”
Why the Deal Matters Now
The transaction is timed to the November 12 federal hemp compliance cliff, when the total THC standard of 0.4 milligrams per container replaces the current 0.3% delta-9 limit. Medterra has publicly positioned its core tincture and capsule lines as compliant with the new standard, giving the combined company a path forward that many multi-state hemp operators do not have.
The deal also fits a larger pattern of consolidation. Bayou City Hemp Company closed its acquisition of Dallas-based Leaf Life Inc. earlier this quarter. Cornbread Hemp secured an exclusive Medicare pilot supply contract with Alliant Purchasing, a GPO serving 68,000 healthcare locations, effective April 1. The companies that remain after November will be larger, better capitalized, and more tightly integrated with either the healthcare channel or the licensed beverage channel.
Two Paths to Market
Hemp industry stakeholders have been describing two legitimate routes forward. The first is full-spectrum CBD at 3 milligrams of THC per container or less, distributed through clinical and wellness channels including the Medicare pilot. The second is low-dose hemp THC beverages at 5 milligrams per serving, distributed through the three-tier alcohol system in states that permit them.
Splash Beverage’s existing distributor relationships in wine and spirits give the combined entity an unusual pair of rails. Medterra supplies the compliant wellness products. Splash supplies the beverage licensing and logistics. Whether the company pursues both channels or focuses on one will likely depend on what the FDA’s pending enforcement policy says when it emerges from OMB review.
Execution Risk
Non-binding LOIs frequently do not close. Splash’s equity trades below $1 per share and faces a potential NYSE American delisting notice if it cannot maintain compliance with listing standards. Any definitive agreement will likely require a reverse stock split or additional capital. Medterra’s lenders and minority investors will also have to sign off on the structure.
The regulatory timing is the other variable. If H.R. 7024 passes and the federal compliance deadline moves to November 2028, the urgency behind the deal softens. If the deadline holds, the companies have roughly seven months to close, integrate, and reformulate any affected SKUs.
Implications for the Category
A closed deal would create one of the five largest pure-play CBD operators by revenue, alongside Charlotte’s Web, cbdMD, CV Sciences, and Green Roads. It would also accelerate the shift away from the pandemic-era direct-to-consumer CBD model toward a hybrid of clinical, retail, and beverage distribution.
For smaller brands, the Splash-Medterra move signals where capital is flowing and what the next 12 months will demand. Scale, compliance, and channel diversity are no longer nice-to-haves. They are the cost of staying on the shelf after November.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. CBD products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
