Aurora expected to debut on benchmark Canadian stock index

The second-largest cannabis company in Canada by sales is expected to be included in the benchmark Canadian stock index, a move that analysts predict will make the sector more appealing to institutional investors and ease capital access.

Alberta-based Aurora Cannabis, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ACB, could be added to the S&P/TSX Composite Index as early as Friday night, Toronto-based analyst Vahan Ajamian said in a research note.

“We believe this will continue the momentum of institutional investors looking closer at the sector,” Ajamian said.

Aurora would be the third cannabis company to be included in the index, after Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) and Aphria (TSX: APH) were added late last year.

Separately, Aurora completed a capital raise worth 230 million Canadian dollars ($185 million), which is believed to be the largest public financing in North America’s cannabis sector.

The company intends to apply the proceeds to the construction of a 1 million-square-foot medical cannabis production facility in Denmark, plus other domestic and international opportunities.

In January, Aurora announced plans to partner with a major greenhouse operator to create “Europe’s largest” medical cannabis producer in Denmark, making it the second licensed cultivator to build a facility in the Scandinavian country.

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