Plant revival, hemp heats up, and destination Germany
Last week’s weed headlines were dominated by the billion dollar deal between Aurora Cannabis Inc. and CanniMed Therapeutics Inc., whose management teams came together for marijuana’s first megamerger. As the drama unfolded, plenty of other deals were getting done across the industry. Here’s a few you may have missed: Nesting with Nestle: On Friday, cannabis financer Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. announced that it had entered into a financing deal with IDP Group Inc. and HMT Solutions Inc., to create a new firm CannabisCo. The group plans to turn a former Nestle Canada plant in Chesterville, Ont., into a cultivation facility.
Wheaton Income will provide $12 million financing to assist the first 100,000 square foot development of the facility. The company hopes that the Nestle factory will produce 7,500 kilograms of cannabis annually once the first phase of construction is complete. Going global: Cronos Group Inc. announced on Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary Peace Naturals Project Inc. has secured a dealer’s licence from Health Canada allowing it to export medical cannabis extracts, like concentrated oil and resin, internationally.
Cronos signed a distribution deal with German pharmaceutical manufacturer Pohl-Boskamp back in October, giving it access to pharmacies across the country.
Other deals: Canopy Growth Corp. is expanding its Saskatchewan presence and diving into hemp production. On Thursday it finalized a previously announced acquisition of Green Hemp Industries Ltd., which focuses on “whole-plant hemp harvesting.”
Maricann Group announced a “non-binding term sheet” for a proposed acquisition of Switzerland-based Haxxon AG on Wednesday. Haxxon operates a 60,000 square foot facility on the outskirts of Zurich, where it cultivates female hemp cannabis flowers.
On Monday, Namaste Technologies Inc.’s subsidiary Cannmart Inc. took a step toward achieving a “sales-only” licence from Health Canada, after receiving a Confirmation of Readiness certification. Once Cannmart secures the licence, the firm will source medical cannabis from domestic and global producers, according to Namaste.