Marijuana Business Magazine - March 2018

information- and resource-sharing agreement intended to provide a mechanism for the entire West Coast to communicate on cannabis policy, exchange information, and, when appropriate, work together on common prob- lems and protect regional cannabis interests. Women Grow TV Denver-based networking company Women Grow launched an online TV Channel, WomenGrowTV, which will offer original programming featuring female cannabis executives as well as content from the organization’s meetings and events. The new channel will be available on Twitch.tv. Twitch is a live-streaming platform owned by Twitch Interactive, an Amazon subsidiary. New York PR Firm Buys Cannabis PR Firm KCSA Strategic Communications , a fully integrated communications agency in New York, acquired Salar Media Group , a public relations and marketing firm spe- cializing in the cannabis industry. SMG founder and CEO Cynthia Salarizadeh will join KCSA as a managing partner and will be based out of Los Angeles. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. CANADA DEVELOPMENTS Record M&A Deal Vancouver, British Columbia- based Aurora Cannabis agreed to acquire CanniMed Therapeutics of Saskatchewan in a cash-and-stock deal worth $900 million (CA$1.2 billion). The acquisition is the world’s largest to date in the marijuana industry and creates one of the world’s biggest cannabis companies. It also gives Aurora more production capacity ahead of Canada’s planned legalization of adult-use cannabis this summer. Canadian Globetrotters Aphria , an Ontario medical mari- juana cultivator, inked two major acquisitions. The company agreed to acquire Toronto-based Nuuvera , a global cannabis company, in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $669 million (CA$826 million). The acquisition creates an international powerhouse with operations in 10 countries. Aphria also bought British Columbia cultivator Broken Coast Can- nabis for $185 million (CA$230 million) in stock and cash. And it expanded its presence in Australia, purchasing a 25% stake in an Australian MMJ producer for $2 million (CA$2.5 million). Separately, Nuuvera secured a deal with Germany’s CC Pharma GmbH to export medical cannabis products for distribution through thousands of German pharmacies. MedMen Plans Canadian Listing MedMen , a cannabis-focused management and investment firm in Los Angeles, plans to go public early in the second quarter on the Cana- dian Securities Exchange. Toronto investment company Captor Capital signed a letter of intent to buy 3% of MedMen for $30 million. Maricann’s Raise and Swiss Bliss Ontario-based Maricann Group is raising $57 million (CA$70 million) after a syndicate of underwriters agreed to pay CA$4 per share for 17.5 million shares. The MMJ cultivator also plans to acquire Swiss hemp producer Haxxon AG for $8.5 million (8 million Swiss francs). Haxxon owns a 60,000-square-foot grow facility outside of Zurich that produces hemp for CBD products. ABcann Can ABcann Global, an Ontario MMJ producer, is raising $57 million (CA$70 million). The firm said a syndicate of underwriters agreed to a stock-purchase deal for 11.5 million shares at a price of CA$3.50 each. The syndicate also will purchase 30,000 convertible debentures for CA$1,000 each. New Financing Firm CannaRoyalty , a Canadian company that invests in Canadian and U.S.-based cannabis companies, has launched Trichome Yield Corp. , a subsidiary that will pro- vide debt financing and professional services for emerg- ing and established marijuana companies. Trichome was co-founded along with real-estate investor Sprott and Stoic Advisory , an independent cannabis-focused consulting firm. Crowdfunding Helps Canadian Hemp Company True Leaf Medicine , a company in Vernon, British Colum- bia, that makes hemp-derived treatments for animals and marijuana products for humans, has raised $4.1 mil- lion (CA$6.2 million) through the relatively new crowd- funding method known as Regulation A+. Canadian Grower and Pharmacy Ink Distribution Deal Shoppers Drug Mart , the big- gest pharmacy chain in Canada, struck a deal with Tilray , the British Columbia-based MMJ cultivator, to carry its branded medical cannabis products for sale nationwide through its online store, including whole flower, oil and capsules. The deal is subject to Health Canada’s approval Adam Bierman CEO, MedMen 110 • Marijuana Business Magazine • March 2018