Aurora Cannabis, suffering from red ink, filed a preliminary short-form base shelf prospectus that will allow the licensed producer to raise up to $500 million over a 25-month period when finalized.
The Edmonton, Alberta-based company filed the documentation with Canadian securities agencies and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a company news release.
Aurora also disclosed that it received gross proceeds of $214.7 million since June 30 from the now-completed ATM program.
The issuance of 42,359,118 common shares for that raise brings the number of shares issued and outstanding to 160,656,048.
Aurora said the proceeds and specific terms of any offering of securities would be disclosed in a future prospectus supplement, which will be filed with Canadian and American regulatory authorities.
Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett said a number of positives can be taken from Aurora’s move.
“This money should allow it to continue to support its top line in Canada, where the overly aggressive shift to value aside, it has a very strong brand and product portfolio,” the analyst wrote to investors.
“It should also allow (Aurora) to invest appropriately behind Europe, and particularly Germany, as we see industry trends now beginning to pick up.
“Finally, and perhaps most significantly, it will allow (Aurora) to invest behind the U.S.”
Aurora ended its 2020 fiscal year with a CA$3.3 billion net loss.
Read the registration statement here.
Aurora trades as ACB on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
Earnings details from some publicly traded companies in the cannabis industry are available here.
