Cannabis deals reach US$8bil in Canada this year

TORONTO: Marijuana has fuelled about US$8bil of deals in Canada this year, with Canopy Growth Corp and Aurora Cannabis Inc among the most active.

Canadian cannabis companies have been involved in at least 97 announced acquisitions and investments with a combined value of US$8.06bil this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

That surpassed activity for all of 2017, which saw 31 deals valued at about US$1.16bil, and the US$361mil from 27 deals in 2016. In 2015 there were six pot deals worth US$72mil.

Dealmaking has picked up as Canada legalises marijuana for recreational use tomorrow.

Many analysts expect it to accelerate further as a handful of stronger companies emerge from the stock-listing frenzy over the past few years.

Almost half of this year’s amount is from Constellation Brand Inc’s investment in Canopy Growth in August, the industry’s biggest deal to date.

That transaction made Greenhill & Co Inc, Canopy’s adviser, the top dealmaker for pot deals this year, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. took second for advising the New Yorkbased maker of Corona beer. — Bloomberg