Marijuana Business Magazine March 2020

March 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 27 company launched The Emerald Conference in 2015 to bring together scientists, researchers, testing labs and businesses to advance cannabis science. MJBizDaily has partnered with Emerald Scientific since 2016 to produce the one-day Science Sympo- sium, a precursor to the company’s marquee event, MJBizCon, in Las Vegas. That partnership served as the foundation for the acquisition. MJBizDaily said it will leverage The Emerald Conference to rapidly expand its reach into cannabis science and research. The company plans to offer more science-related content on its media platforms and at its other events—particularly its hemp and international conferences. As part of the deal, Emerald will continue to consult with MJBizDaily on scientific content under a multiyear partnership. Also, in 2019, MJBizDaily donated more than $425,000 in cash and in-kind donations through its Industry Giveback Program. The program, established in 2015, supports nonprofit organizations and professional associations focused on industry building in areas of professional development and inclusion, sustainability and community development as well as continued support for legalization advocacy work across the cannabis industry. The advocacy groups that received funding from the 2019 Industry Giveback Program include: • Drug Policy Alliance. • Marijuana Policy Project Foundation. • Students for Sensible Drug Policy. • Americans for Safe Access Foundation. • NORML Foundation. Canadian-American CBD Deal Heavenly Rx , a CBD maker based in Toronto, announced its acquisition of PureKana , a privately held CBD manufacturer in Paradise Valley, Arizona. The purchase expands Heavenly Rx’s reach into Arizona and continues a recent string of acquisitions by the Sol Global Investments subsidiary. PureKana will continue to manufacture CBD gummies, topicals and oils under the PureKana brand. Extraction Business Gets Research Permit Health Canada granted Vancouver, British Columbia- based Nextleaf Solutions a research license under the country’s Cannabis Act. The new license allows Nextleaf Solutions subsidiary Nextleaf Labs to conduct research and development activities, including stability trials on the company’s nanoemulsified, water-soluble THC and CBD formulations. The research license is the second permit Health Canada awarded to Nextleaf Labs. The first was a standard processing license in September 2019. Under the research license, Nextleaf Labs is permitted to conduct R&D on analytical investigations of cannabis and its derivatives, the extraction, refinement and purification of compounds from cannabis and hemp as well as formulation of infused cannabis products. Nextleaf also received a standard patent from IP Australia—the Australian government agency that administers intellectual property rights—for its filtration cell used in the post-extraction processing of cannabinoids from cannabis and hemp. It is Nextleaf’s 12th patent. Aphria Strikes $76 Million Deal Canadian licensed producer Aphria struck a deal with an institutional investor for a strategic investment worth $76 million (CA$100 million). The investor, who requested to remain anonymous, agreed to purchase just over 14 million Aphria units at $5.37 (CA$7.12) apiece. Each unit comprises one common share and a half of one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the investor to acquire one common share at a price of $6.98 (CA$9.26) for a period of 24 months from the closing date. If exercised, that would add a potential $45.3 million (CA$60 million). The Leamington, Ontario-based company said the investment will strengthen its cash balance to nearly $453 million (CA$600 million). Aphria said it intends to use the proceeds to finance international expansion, working capital and general corporate purposes. Chief Financial Officer Carl Merton said the investment represents an endorsement of Aphria in tough market conditions. CANADA DEVELOPMENTS