Colombian cannabis firm Flora Growth reached a definitive agreement to acquire Carlsbad, California-based Vessel Brand.
Flora, a small cannabis cultivator and processor in Colombia with its head office in Toronto, agreed to buy Vessel for $8 million in cash and 4,557,318 Flora shares, amounting to about $30 million in total, according to a news release.
The Colombian company said in the release that the acquisition is an “opportunity to fast-forward Flora’s penetration into U.S. and Canadian cannabis markets.”
“Integration plans with the Vessel team are already well advanced and we expect step-change improvements to the marketing and sales strategies for our core consumer brands,” Flora CEO Luis Merchan said in a statement, “as well as new brand development in support of our global growth initiatives.”
Vessel, which produces vaping products, said the deal will help it diversify its premium brand portfolio.
Vessel executives will join Flora’s core management team, including CEO James Choe, Chief Financial Officer Garrett Potter, marketing head Jessie Casner and Jason Choe, VP of performance.
The deal is expected to close in mid-November.
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In a regulatory filing earlier this year, Flora said its focus was on selling products in the United States and Colombia in the short term with an eye on expansion to Latin American countries, plus Canada and Europe, pending regulatory development there.
Flora Growth shares are traded on the Nasdaq as FLGC.
