Welcome to "Rising High," The Fly's recurring series focused on the stories impacting cannabis stocks.
MASSACHUSETTS OPENS POT SHOPS: Massachusetts’ first two legal pot shops opened in Leicester and Northampton on Tuesday over two years after state voters approved recreational marijuana for adults, the Associated Press reported. The shops, which represent the first legal marijuana stores on the U.S. East Coast, sold strains of the part of the plant that can be smoked, pre-rolled joints and edibles.
INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS TO ACQUIRE GREEN GENE: On Thursday, ICC International Cannabis (KNHBF) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Green Gene Research, which controls a portfolio of over 120 laboratory-tested craft Cannabis strains. The company said, “These unique craft strains will allow for the continued differentiation of the International Cannabis brand, in an increasingly generic and homogenized market...The acquisition of Green Gene positions International Cannabis to realize multiple revenue streams using its unique genetic catalogue.”
SPECTRUM CANNABIS JOINS CANNABIS STANDARD: On Tuesday, Reformulary Group announced it has signed Spectrum Cannabis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC), as a medical cannabis partner for its Cannabis Standard formulary. The company said the addition of Spectrum Cannabis will provide Canadians and employers that subscribe to Cannabis Standard with a number of Spectrum Cannabis products and preferred pricing options. "Spectrum Cannabis is a trailblazer in medical cannabis and a significant addition to Cannabis Standard," said Helen Stevenson, Reformulary Group founder and chief executive officer.
CANOPY’S VC ARM POISED TO POUNCE ON U.S. LEGALIZATION: Canopy Growth’s venture capital arm, Canopy Rivers, is prohibited from investing in the U.S. marijuana market , but co-founders Sean McNulty and Peter Hatziioannou say they are keeping tabs on potential U.S. opportunities through their outside consulting firm XIB Consulting, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. “If Canopy Rivers could invest its own capital into the States, you would see one or both of us go all in on Canopy Rivers,” McNulty said, adding the company keeps itself “very plugged into other ideas, competitors and opportunities” through XIB. The company’s portfolio also includes TerrAscend, a Canadian pot producer aiming to expand into the U.S. through acquisitions. The company is able to do so as it is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, which allows U.S.-focused cannabis firms.
MEDMEN CFO RESIGNS: On Friday, MedMen Enterprises (MMNFF) announced that chief financial officer James Parker had resigned and that the company planned to cut the size of the latest round of funding by roughly half. The company expects to reduce the size of the round about 40% to C$75M from the C$120M it announced on November 9 and lower the price of units to C$5.50 from C$6.80. “Shortly after the announcement, the global market experienced a significant sell-off, and as we ended last week, the investors that bought that deal would have been underwater,” Bierman said in a statement. “That did not sit right with us, and accordingly we initiated a discussion with Cannacord about repricing the deal, to ensure our investors would be buying the deal based on an offering ripe for the returns we constantly seek to create.” The company appointed Jim Miller, vice president of accounting, as interim CFO.
OTHER CANNABIS STOCKS: Other publicly traded companies in the space include Aurora Cannabis (ACB), CV Sciences (CVSI), CannTrust Holdings (CNTTF), Cronos Group (CRON), General Cannabis (CANN), India Globalization Capital (IGC), Tilray (TLRY) and MediPharm Labs (MLCPF).
ICC International Cannabis
+ (+0.00%)
Canopy Growth
+2.17 (+6.80%)
MedMen
+ (+0.00%)
Aurora Cannabis
+0.23 (+3.81%)
CV Sciences
+ (+0.00%)
CNTTF
+
Cronos Group
+0.38 (+4.64%)
Trees Corporation
+ (+0.00%)
IGC Pharma
+ (+0.00%)
Tilray
+3.56 (+3.43%)
Changed to MEDIF
+ (+0.00%)