Marijuana Business Magazine September 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | September 2019 26 Imperial Brands Invests $93 Million in Auxly British tobacco giant Imperial Brands said it will invest $93.4 million (CA$123 million) to take a 19.9% stake in Auxly Cannabis Group , an international marijuana company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The two companies also entered a research and development partnership, Auxly said in a news release. As part of the deal, Auxly is being granted global licenses to Imperial Brands’ vaping technology and intellectual property as well as its vapor innovation busi- ness, Nerudia. Auxly also will become Imperial Brands’ exclusive partner for cannabis-related initiatives. As part of the transaction, Imperial will receive one of the five director positions on Auxly’s board. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Italy Selects Aurora Cannabis as Sole Provider The Italian government selected Aurora Cannabis of Edmonton, Alberta, to supply medical cannabis in one of the most strictly regulated MMJ markets in the world. Aurora won Italy’s first-ever tender in January 2018 and supplied the nation with medical cannabis for the next 15 months. Under the new contract, Aurora will supply a minimum of 882 pounds (400 kilograms) of medical marijuana over two years, with the cannabis coming from its Canadian EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)- certified facilities and imported to Italy through Aurora Deutschland , its wholly owned European subsidiary. The cannabis will be sold to Agenzia Industrie Difesa (an agency of the Italian Ministry of Defense) for distribution to local pharmacies, which dispense directly to patients. Companies Invest in Friendly Stranger Holdings Strategic partners including Green Acre Capital , 48North Cannabis and VIVO Cannabis invested $5 million in Toronto-based marijuana accessories retailer Friendly Stranger Holdings . VIVO Cannabis and 48North Cannabis each made a $1.3 million strategic investment in the company, and Green Acre Capital committed $2.5 million, in addition to its original investment in October 2018. Friendly Stranger will use the investment to further its aggressive growth strategy, including opening additional cannabis culture accessory stores as well as launching adult-use marijuana retail locations across Canada. In addition to the financial investment, 48North, VIVO and Friendly Stranger entered into a preferred partnership agreement in which the parties have agreed to collaborate on obtaining Friendly Stranger’s cannabis retail licenses, conducting in-store events and leveraging co-branding opportunities. Have a company announcement you want us to consider? Send a news release or general information to omars@mjbizdaily.com. (Note: We’re looking for news about expansions, financing, deals, partnerships and similar developments, not product-related announcements.) CANADA DEVELOPMENTS acquisition, DionyMed paid MMAC $13.1 million in cash and issued $6 million in DionyMed Series A Multiple Voting Shares. The transaction allows MMAC to substantially accelerate its retail growth strategy and elevate its existing retail, cultivation and distribution operations in Southern California. MJardin Finalizes Nevada Access Denver- and Toronto-based MJardin Group completed the transfer of license ownership for its Las Vegas cultivation facility from GreenMart of Nevada . The move gives MJardin its first fully owned and operated cultivation facility in Nevada. The 30,000-square-foot facility is expected to have 16,000 square feet of bench space with 12,566 pounds of product per year at full capacity by early in the third quarter of 2020. The company said the facility lends itself to future value-add opportunities with MJardin’s sister asset, Cannabella , an edibles and topical production facility with extraction capabilities that currently has products in 50 out of 65 retail locations in Nevada. The transfer of ownership from Cannabella to MJardin is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019. Company News | U.S. & Canada