Three top American cannabis firms made their trading debuts on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) this week, continuing the frenzy of U.S.-based marijuana companies turning to Canada’s public markets to raise capital.
Here’s a quick rundown of what investors need to know:
- Multistate cannabis operator Acreage Holdings listed its shares under the ticker symbol ACRG.U after the closing of its reverse takeover (RTO) of Toronto-based Applied Inventions Management. New York-based Acreage, valued at more than $2 billion, raised $314 million ahead of its trading debut. The company grabbed headlines earlier this year when it appointed former House Speaker John Boehner to its board and landed a $119 million raise – the largest private financing in the U.S. cannabis industry. Acreage shares closed at 24.25 Canadian dollars ($18.44) Friday, up more than 19% for the day.
- Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation made its trading debut as HARV. The firm, which also pursued an RTO, raised $218 million ahead of its listing. Harvest has cultivation and dispensary licenses and operations in 10 states. The company’s stock closed Friday at CA$7.60, gaining more than 8% for the day.
- Denver-based MJardin Group listed its shares under the symbol MJAR and also announced this week that it had closed a CA$278 million deal to acquire Toronto-based cannabis producer GrowForce. MJardin operates 23 cultivation facilities across the U.S. and Canada. The firm’s stock closed Friday at $8.27, up 6% for the day.
A number of other companies have announced RTO plans that are expected to close in the coming months, including:
- Chicago-based Cresco Labs
- Denver-based Dixie Brands, which has obtained conditional approval from the CSE to list
- Oakland, California-based Harborside
- Denver-based LivWell Enlightened Health
- Phoenix-based 4Front Holdings
Lisa Bernard-Kuhn may be reached at [email protected]
