Aurora Cannabis targeting October for U.S. stock listing
Alberta-based marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis Inc. is looking at listing shares on a major United States stock exchange in October, according to one of its executives.
“We’re targeting the month of October to establish a U.S. listing,” said Cam Battley, Aurora’s chief corporate officer, in an interview with the Financial Post on Tuesday.
Battley told the Post that such a move would continue to broaden the scope of Aurora’s would-be investors, “including U.S. institutional investors, not all of whom are able to trade in OTC-listed securities,” he said.
“We’ve previously indicated very clearly that we plan to have a U.S. listing, and now I can say that we’re targeting next month,” Battley had said during the discussion. “So that’ll add another piece to the puzzle, and we’ve been very, very busy adding pieces to the puzzle.”
The move south would allow Aurora to tap into the pockets of U.S. investors, and to do so after announcing a string of acquisitions, such as its recent agreement to buy Vancouver-based marijuana company ICC Labs Inc. for around $290 million in stock.
Prior to Battley ’s comments, Aurora chief executive Terry Booth had mentioned to Bloomberg in March that his company was looking at trading its shares on a U.S. stock exchange.
“We’ll look at all exchanges, we’ll look at New York Stock Exchange,” Booth had said.
Battley declined to offer further details about a possible listing spot.
But in listing on a major U.S. exchange, Aurora would be following in the footsteps of fellow Canadian cannabis producers Tilray Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp., both of which have seen recent gains in their share prices.
It would also come after BNN Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources, that Aurora and Coca-Cola Co. had held discussions about cannabis-infused drinks.
Aurora issued a statement on the situation Tuesday, saying that it “engages in exploratory discussions with industry participants from time to time.”
“At this time the Company confirms there is no agreement, understanding or arrangement with respect to any partnership with a beverage company,” it added.