A quick recap from the world of pot stocks in the last week of 2020
Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks in the final week of 2020, and look ahead to how the cannabis industry will develop in the new year.
Investor interest in the cannabis industry continues at an explosive growth rate, and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier, especially in the United States. More than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020. Now, more and more companies are starting to see the opportunity in cannabis cultivation, marketing, distribution, and technology.
As the cannabis sector continues to grow, investors can anticipate many more marijuana stock initial public offerings (IPOs) on the horizon for the cannabis stock industry.
Here is a quick roundup of major cannabis stock news this week (Dec. 28 through Dec. 31):
Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) is being investigated by Halper Sadeh LLP as Dec. 29, concerning potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties relating to its merger with Aphria (APHA). Under the terms of the merger agreement, Aphria shareholders will receive 0.8381 shares of Tilray stock for each APHA stock share.
cbdMD, Inc. (NYSE:YCBD), one of the leading and most highly trusted and recognized cannabidiol (CBD) brands, announced on Dec. 28 that the company is expanding its direct-to-consumer operations into the United Kingdom. This officially launches cbdMD's new website, exclusively for customers in the U.K.
Sundial Growers Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL) announced on Dec. 30 that it has closed on the acquisition of a special purpose vehicle. Consideration for the investment, totaling $58.9 million CAD in cash, was funded from Sundial's available cash reserves, which totaled $110 million CAD.
Sundial Growers also announced a major licensing deal, which closed with Simply Solventless on Dec. 28. In this deal, Sundial agreed to begin producing Simply Solventless concentrates. While Sundial will be handling the production, Simply Solventless will be paid royalties on the sale of the products.
According to the Sundial Growers' CEO, "As part of our continued cost and process optimization initiatives, we are pleased to enter into a licensing agreement with SSC that includes a non-binding purchase agreement to sell the Rocky View facility. We believe that this collaboration with SSC will improve our returns on invested capital and provide consumers with an excellent addition to our portfolio of cannabis products."
Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VFF) director and CEO, Michael A. DeGiglio, announced on Dec. 29 that he sold 520,000 shares of Village Farms stock through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange. This was at an average price of $14.81 CAD per share, for a total sales price of $7.6 million CAD.