EMERALD GOES ONLINE, ABCANN GETS CLINICAL
Aphria Inc.’s announcement last Monday that it was buying little-known Nuuvera Inc. for an implied value of $826 million kicked the week off with a bang. By Friday, however, optimism in the sector had hit a wall. The Canadian Marijuana Index shed more than 30 per cent between Monday and Friday, and the week ended with a volatile day of sell- offs and opportunistic buys. While the cannabis stock market shuddered, companies continued to make deals. Here are a few you may have missed.
EMERALD GOES ONLINE
Namaste Technologies Inc., an online retailer of cannabis related products, and B.C.- based LP Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc., announced on Tuesday that they were joining forces to develop a new e- commerce platform for Emerald products. Emerald will use Namaste’s online technology to sell its cannabis alongside Namaste’s catalogue of “can- nabis delivery devices.” Emerald will also provide product to Namaste’s subsidiary Cannmart Inc., which is currently applying for a sales-only licence under the ACMPR. Under the deal, the companies will each get 500,000 warrants for the other’s stocks.
GETTING CLINICAL
On Thursday, l i censed producer ABcann Global Corp. completed its acquisition of Harvest Medicine Inc., a medical cannabis clinic in Calgary with 9,700 patients, according to the company. ABcann plans to develop additional Harvest Medicine clinics, starting with one in Edmonton that’s expected to open this spring. It paid $ 1.5 million in cash and issued 1,056,338 shares to Harvest Medicine owners, with more promised if the company hits “certain performance milestones.”
OTHER DEALS
Winnipeg- based LP Delta 9 Cannabis Inc., which produces cannabis inside “grow pods” made of repurposed shipping containers, plans to develop a production facility in southern Alberta with private company Westleaf Cannabis Inc. Last Monday the companies announced they had signed a non- binding letter of intent to repurpose an existing building into an operation intended to produce 4,000 kilograms of dried flower a year. Each company will take a 50 per cent stake in the project, which, according to Delta 9, is expected to be up and running as early as Q3 2018.
Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. entered into an agreement to buy Uruguay- based Inverell S. A. The federally licensed “cannabis operator,” based in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo, has 16 hectares planted and another 574 hectares available for cultivation, according to a press release from Wheaton Income. Wheaton Income is paying around $ 5.5 million in cash and shares, and another $9.5 million if Inverell hits certain goals.
iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc., which is based in the U. S. but trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange, acquired New York- based Citiva Medical for US$ 18 million in cash and shares. Citiva holds one of only 10 medical marijuana licences in New York, and plans to open four dispensaries over the next two years. Accord- ing to Canaccord Genuity Corp. analyst Matt Bottomley, New York’s medical cannabis market could be worth up to $1 billion annually. There are still concerns about Canadian- listed companies operating in the U. S. where the federal government recently announced its intent to enforce cannabis laws more strictly.