Tikun Olam, once one of the world’s leading medical cannabis companies, is selling its domestic assets for $42 million – or about half of its asking price of $100 million – according to Israeli media reports.
Cannbit Pharmaceuticals has reportedly agreed to buy Tikun Olam’s operations in Israel.
Rivals Bazelet Group and InterCure were also in the mix, Calcalist, a daily business newspaper, reported.
Tel Aviv-headquartered Tikun Olam’s international assets in Greece, Australia, the United States and Canada are not part of the sale.
A court sided with the ministry in August.
The court said Cohen would need to cut his stake from 70% to under 5% for the company’s license to be reinstated.
As recently as last last year, Tikun Olam controlled 40% of the domestic market.
Today that number stands at about 6% of Israel’s 46,000 patients.
Tikun Olam started running into serious problems in November when it was hit with a temporary closure after the Ministry of Health raised questions over a new drying process.
A spokesperson for Tikun Olam did not immediately respond to media queries.
Vancouver-based Namaste Technologies owns 10% of Cannbit.
Tikun Olam was an early investor in Ontario-based Corporation before it was purchased by Aurora Cannabis.
With the rise of adult use cannabis, experts see medical marijuana dominated by two distinct markets.