Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth Corporation last week announced it plans to “fast track” its entry into the U.S. market. The company said it is consolidating its U.S. assets into a new holding company, Canopy USA LLC.
David Klein, Canopy CEO, said the strategy enables the firm to “take control” of its own destiny “and capitalize on the once-in-a-generation opportunity in the largest cannabis market in the world.”
“We expect to unleash the full power of Canopy’s scalable and ideally-positioned U.S. cannabis ecosystem to unlock potential expansion opportunities. This strategy and positioning are true differentiators, which we expect to enable our investors and brands to realize value in the near term while positioning Canopy for profitable growth and a fast start upon U.S. federal permissibility.” — Klein in a press release
The U.S. cannabis market is expected to reach $50 billion by 2026, according to MJBiz data outlined by Canopy.
Canopy’s U.S. portfolio includes Acreage Holdings Inc.; the option to acquire Moutain High Products LLC and its Wana brand; and the option to acquire Jetty, a top 10 California brand.
The firm also has the option to exercise warrants on approximately 13.7% of TerrAscend Corp.
Constellation Brands, the spirits giant that acquired a stake in Canopy in 2017 for $190 million, said it planned to transition existing common shares ownership interest in Canopy into new exchangeable shares, which would protect “Constellation shareholder value while retaining an interest in Canopy Growth through non-voting and non-participating shares.”
Bill Newlands, Constellation’s president and CEO, said the company believes the conversion “will maintain Constellation’s ability to realize the potential upside” of its investment in the cannabis firm.
“At the same time, this transaction and the surrender of our warrants are expected to eliminate the impact to our equity in earnings, mitigate risk to our organization, and further reinforce our intent to not deploy additional investment in Canopy aligned with Constellation’s previously stated capital allocation priorities,” he said in a statement.
Collectively, Canopy’s footprint currently spans 21 states, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
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