Hydropothecary latest pot company to go public

Quebec’s Hydropothecary Corp. became the l atest medical marijuana company Tuesday to open its business to investors eager to cash in on the burgeoning marijuana sector.

The company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange by way of a reverse takeover; shares opened trading Tuesday at $1.82 before settling to close at $1.55 apiece.

Nearly 3.6 million shares changed hands as many investors seek opportunities to pour into the hot marijuana market ahead of an expected recreational legalization announcement by the federal government this spring.

The company had been toying with the idea of going public for some time but had a couple “false starts” said CEO Sebastien St. Louis.

“We really decided to do it because of our forecasting for the legalization of a recreational market,” he said.

“We want to be ready and on the capital markets.”

The company has plans to add another 250,000 square feet to its existing 42,000 sq.ft. facility.

Reverse takeovers of existing stock listings have been a common avenue for medical marijuana companies looking to go public. Hydropoth- ecary completed a deal with BFK Capital Corp. last week.

Hydropothecary is currently Canada’s only Quebecbased licensed producer of medical marijuana and has been selling marijuana for just over a year. The company said it does not report patient numbers but said revenue was $ 1.1 million in the last quarter. Cost of production — a key metric in the sector as players compete on price — is under $1.50 per gram, St. Louis said.

The firm raised money to expand in December, when it introduced six new lowerpriced products, ranging in price from $ 7.25 per gram to $ 10 per gram, according to sector analyst Vahan Ajamian. “We understand that while adding these lowerpriced products has led to a significant acceleration in patient count, Hydropothecary is still selling more of its $15/g products than before,” he wrote in a note Monday.

“Hydropothecary still has the second- highest average price ($11.11/g) and is tied for the second- largest selection (14) among LPs (licensed producers) — behind Whistler in both cases.”

He estimated the company will go public with an initial market capitalization of $53 million and an opening enterprise value of $36 million.