Canada's largest cannabis company pens historic $5 billion deal

Canada’s largest cannabis company has announced they have closed the biggest deal in the history of the legal cannabis industry.

Constellation Brands, the alcoholic beverage company behind such brands as Corona and Svedka Vodka, announced today that they are acquiring 104.5 million shares of Canopy Growth, the country’s largest cannabis producer, for a total of $5 billion CND.

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This will increase Constellation Brands ownership interest in Canopy Growth to approximately 38%. The shares are being bought at a price of $48.60 each, which is a 51.2% premium to the closing price on August 14, 2018. The announcement caused Canopy’s stock price to shoot up by over 30% this morning.

“This is rocket fuel,” said Bruce Linton, Chairman and Co-CEO of Canopy Growth, on a company earnings call on Wednesday. “We’re going to be way more global.”

This investment, the largest to date in the cannabis space, will provide a financial means by which Canopy Growth plans to continue to build and acquire assets to expand into the nearly 30 countries pursuing federally permissible medical pot programs.

“Through this investment, we are selecting Canopy Growth as our exclusive global cannabis partner,” said Rob Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands, in a release. “Over the past year, we’ve come to better understand the cannabis market, the tremendous growth opportunity it presents, and Canopy’s market-leading capabilities.”

“We look forward to supporting Canopy as they extend their recognized global leadership position in the medical and recreational cannabis space.”

Founded in 2013, Canopy Growth has become a leader in Canada’s legal cannabis market. It has an established a global presence in 11 countries, while aquiring other names in Canadian pot like Tweed and Spectrum Cannabis.

“Our business can now make the strategic investments required to accelerate our market position globally,” said Linton. “Constellation’s concentration of global cannabis activities exclusively through Canopy, coupled with the investment and its expert capabilities… will be a huge benefit as we look to expand our portfolio in Canada, the United States and emerging cannabis markets around the globe.”

Canopy Growth will remain a Canadian company with its headquarters in Smiths Falls, Ontario, and will continue to be led by its existing management team.

This deal follows the recent announcement by iconic brewer Molson and Canadian cannabis company Hydropothecary that they would be forming a strategic partnership to produce a non-alcoholic beverage infused with cannabis. Neither Constellation or Canopy have indicated if they intend to produce a similar product.