Quebec convenience store giant Alimentation Couche Tard (which also owns Circle K stores) will pay $380M over 36 months for a controlling 50.1% stake of REC retailer Fire and Flower, hoping to spur “aggressive growth.”
Globe and Mail
- Fire and Flower is considering expansion to Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, provided those nations legalize.
- Couche Tard is the world’s largest convenience-store operator, with 10,000 stores in North America, and an additional 5,000 in Europe and Oceania.
Financial Post - This is Couche Tard’s second cannabis investment, after partnering with Canopy in February to open a Tweed-branded REC retailer in Ontario.
The Star - Prior to legalization, Couche Tard unsuccessfully lobbied the Quebec government throughout 2017 to allow the sale of cannabis in convenience stores and dépanneurs.
CTV News, Equity Guru, CBC Business
Quick Hits
- The Boston Globe charted the history and present of Canadian legalization and contrasted it against Massachusetts’ ongoing legalization process.
Boston Globe - Investor’s Business Daily considered Canadian cannabis stocks in exhaustive detail.
Investor’s Business Daily