SOL Global CEO says short sellers failed to do their own due diligence
The CEO of SOL Global Investments Corp., the firm accused of selling several Latin American assets at “vastly inflated” prices to Aphria Inc. said that the short sellers making their accusations failed to do their own due diligence in backing their claims. The short sellers also provided faulty evidence behind its claims that sent the Canadian pot producer’s shares into a tailspin this week, Brady Cobb told BNN Bloomberg’s Amanda Lang on Thursday. Cobb said the short sellers behind the report – Hindenburg Research and Quintessential Capital Management (QCM) – “purposely didn’t find what they were looking for” and that all information verifying the deal has been filed with securities regulators and stock exchanges.
Aphria forms special committee to address short sellers’ allegations
Aphria announced Thursday morning it has appointed a special committee of three independent directors to review the company's previously completed acquisition of its Latin American holdings, confirming previous BNN Bloomberg reporting, to back the company's belief that it conformed with all policies and generally accepted corporate governance practices. The short sellers’ report issued on Monday appear to lead to a weaning off of the pot-stock euphoria, as Aphria’s stock decline has raised broader questions about governance and financial disclosure in the adolescent industry.
Canopy Growth acquires German vape maker Storz & Bickel
Canopy Growth, the biggest pot producer in Canada, announced a deal Thursday to acquire a German firm that specializes in vaporizer design and manufacturing for about $220 million in cash. When the acquisition closes, it will give Canopy – already a major player in the cannabis innovation space – an additional 17 filed patents that will improve its existing vaporizer design operations. Also notable about this deal is that Canopy acquired this company with cash. Most recent cannabis M&A activity has been done in all-stock transactions.
Supreme Cannabis ties up deal with Wiz Khalifa
The Supreme Cannabis Co. said it has agreed to a deal with hip-hop star Wiz Khalifa to bring the musician's cannabis company and its premium strains to Canada. The Toronto-based pot producer told BNN Bloomberg’s David George-Cosh it will pay $1 million in cash in addition to about 5.7 million shares for the right to distribute the musician's "Khalifa Kush" cannabis brand and provide consulting services for the next three years. However, Supreme will have to tweak the incoming product to avoid running afoul of Health Canada's marijuana marketing restrictions that restrict celebrities from endorsing cannabis.
It’s a dirty job, but someone has to check how the cannabis black market is doing
Here’s another way to check how the cannabis black market is doing – check the sewage. The Globe and Mail reports that Statistics Canada got its hands dirty to track how the black market in cannabis has fared since legalization, analyzing the sewage of five cities to determine how much pot residents are consuming. The results suggest that Halifax had the highest rate of consumption per capita, trailed by Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver.
DAILY BUZZ
“For publicly traded companies, governance is something that’s required.”
– Harvest Inc. CEO Steve White stressed the need for U.S. and Canadian cannabis companies to obey best governance practices in light of the recent allegations on Aphria from short sellers
Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formation of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day.
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