Business
Canopy/Wana tie-up caps week of big deals
By
Alex Halperin
Oct 14, 2021
Oct 14, 2021
Share:

Canopy Growth, one of Canada’s largest operators, agreed to acquire Colorado-based edibles maker Wana Brands for 297.5M once U.S. federal law makes it permissible.
- Wana is the top U.S. edibles brand by market share. It also has a substantial portion of the Canadian market through a partnership with Indiva.
- Wana CMO Joe Hodas recently described the brand’s new “Optimals” product line as a “monumental shift in how we market the plant.”
- It’s the latest in a series of cross-border deals designed to create ways for Canadian operators to access the U.S. market without breaking U.S. law. Canopy is paying $297.5 million upfront in cash for call options to acquire 100% of three Wana entities. There may be future payments as well.
- Several days before the deal was announced, the Wall Street Journal discussed the dilemma for Canadian companies.
- Canopy previously entered a deal to buy MSO Acreage once it was legally viable. The unconsummated deal has since been scaled back.
Separately, High Times has a long story on a cool kids version of a cross-border partnership between B.C.-based Burb, rapper Problem‘s Coffee & Kush line and equity brand GreenLabelRx.
Many more deals this week:
- Dispensary software platform Dutchie raised a $350M series D at a $3.75B valuation. The deal doubles Dutchie’s valuation from its March Series C, when it raised $200M. D1 Capital Partners led the round. Some of the money will go into Dutchie’s R&D lab where it has pledged to spend $100M on tools the industry needs.
- Jay-Z invested $19M in dispensary software Flowhub.
Forbes - Chicago-based PharmaCann said it would acquire LivWell, Colorado’s largest vertically integrated company, for undisclosed terms.
- Chicago-based MSO Cresco Labs said it would acquire Laurel Harvest Labs, a Pennsylvania dispensary for $80M. The deal comes days after Cresco said it would would acquire another Pennsylvania dispensary.
Share:
Already a Pro member? Login here
pro
Calif. lab execs allege rampant potency fraud
California cannabis retailers say only two things move product: high potency and low prices.With prices finding new lows and the state market in crisis, retailers are hungry for products with ever higher THC levels. This dynamic has led to a...
pro
Black-owned businesses feel the squeeze
In June, the chair of Oakland’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission sounded the alarm: California’s social equity businesses couldn’t survive in the current business climate. Amid heavy taxes and competition with the illegal market, Chaney Turner told lawmakers in Sacramento, “Only large...
pro
Dutchie’s payments play faces headwinds
Correction: This story originally misstated Lipson's title and the nature of Dutchie's e-commerce offering.Cannatech unicorn Dutchie has a new payments offering designed to secure its place at the center of dispensary tech stacks, and help it reach profitability. For that...