NANAIMO, B.C. - Tilray Inc. (TLRY.O) has signed a deal that puts limits on how and when its largest shareholder may sell its stake in the cannabis company.

Privateer Holdings Inc., one of the company's early investors, holds 75 million Tilray shares, roughly a 77 per cent stake in the Canadian company.

Under the agreement, Tilray will acquire Privateer and its stake in the company in exchange for an equal number of new Tilray shares that will be issued to the U.S. private equity firm's shareholders.

The new shares will be subject to a lock-up and may only be sold under certain circumstances over a two-year period.

During the first year, the shares will be released only in marketed offerings and/or block trades to institutional investors or via sales to strategic investors arranged at the sole discretion of Tilray.

The remaining shares will be subject to a staggered release over the second year.