Canadian cannabis company Tilray files for IPO, eyes Nasdaq listing

Tilray, the British Columbia cannabis company owned by Seattle private equity firm Privateer, filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday to go public.

The vertically integrated grow, processing and distribution company – one of the bigger cannabis companies in Canada – intends to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol TLRY, the company announced in a news release.

The filing comes just about four months after the Cronos Group, an Ontario cannabis company, listed on the Nasdaq, and Canopy Growth, another Ontario business, filed for its own Nasdaq IPO.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not been determined.

Tilray does not intend to list on any stock exchange in Canada, the company said.

Cowen and BMO Capital Markets will jointly act as bookrunners for the proposed IPO, according to the release.

Cowen will act as the sole bookrunning manager for the IPO in the United States, and BMO Capital Markets will act as the sole bookrunning manager for the IPO in Canada.

Eight Capital will act as a lead manager for the IPO in Canada. Roth Capital Partners will act as a lead manager and Northland Capital Markets will act as a co-manager for the IPO in the United States.

In related news, Sandoz Canada, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Novartis, finalized an agreement with Tilray to put the Sandoz brand name on eight noncombustible cannabis products that are already sold under the country’s medical marijuana mail-order system, according to the Financial Post.

Tilray and Sandoz signed a letter of intent last March to form a joint venture.