Aurora Cannabis sees cheaper cannabis products as key strategy behind Reliva deal 

Aurora Cannabis' move to the U.S. market appears to fall in line with the company's recent move to sell cheaper cannabis. The company said late Wednesday it would acquire U.S. CBD company Reliva LLC for US$40 million in company shares, helping push Aurora's stock up more than 35 per cent in Thursday trading. But its interest was likely captured by Reliva's network of 20,000 locations, many of which are gas stations or convenience stores where its CBD gummies and tinctures sell for about $20 each. The move mirrors Aurora's recent strategy of pushing its Daily Special brand - which is priced to compete with the illicit market - and now commands roughly 10 per cent of the cannabis market in Ontario. "We really staked our ground with approachability and format," Reliva CEO Miguel Martin said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg. 

Someone imported a ton of pot to Portugal but no one's talking

Someone in Portugal had a ton of cannabis shipped to them, but no one knows who it was. The international marijuana mystery begins with a 1,000 kilogram load of medical cannabis flown over to Portugal from Uruguay late last year, MJBizDaily reports. However, the Portuguese importer is not identified in a customs document, the trade industry website said. Infarmed, the Portuguese regulatory agency responsible for approving imports and exports of narcotics, was not able to confirm the identity of the buyer. Canadian cannabis producer Tilray was the only licensed company in Portugal that neither confirmed or denied whether it was involved in the shipment when asked by MJBizDaily.   

Ayr Strategies shares rise after posting better-than-expected Q1 results

Shares of U.S. cannabis operator Ayr Strategies soared on Thursday after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter results. Ayr reported US$33.6 million in revenue, up four per cent from the prior quarter, while it booked US$8.4 million in adjusted EBITDA. Echelon Wealth Partners analyst Andrew Semple said in a report that as long as the company continues to see positive cash flow, the impact from COVID-19 should be "transitory in nature," and normal growth should return in an orderly manner. 
 

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