Cannabis Maker to Go Public in Reverse Merger With Oil Producer
Zyus Life Sciences Inc. has completed a reverse takeover (RTO) of long-standing listed crude oil producer Phoenix Canada Oil.
The deal, which raised C$20.1m, will see the newly combined entity commence trading on the TSX-Venture Exchange as Zyus Life Sciences Corp. from June 19.
Zyus Life Sciences, which produces a range of cannabinoid drugs to treat pain and osteoarthritis, told Bloomberg that it had attempted to launch an IPO, before sidestepping to the increasingly common reverse takeover route.
Chief Executive Officer Brent Zettl said: “We tried to go the IPO route… (but back then) the markets were headed south… there were no takers because nobody wanted to be the lead investor.”
This marks the fifth and largest RTO on the TSX-Venture Exchange so far this year, more than double the value of the next largest RTO, which saw C$9m raised by Waroona Energy.
Lawsuit accuses California cannabis grower Glass House of illicit activity
Last week, a lawsuit filed on June 6 by Southern California-based Catalyst, accused its Californian Rival Glass House Brands of being one of the largest ‘black marketers of cannabis in the state’.
According to the lawsuit, which alleges unlawful and unfair business practices and seeks and injunction, Glass House is ‘knowingly entering into illicit sales – both inside and outside California’, stretching as far as ‘New Jersey’.
MJBiz Daily reports that the company is accused of selling cannabis both to the legal market and to a network of ‘burner distros’, licensed distributors set up to be briefly used as conduits for legally grown cannabis to enter the illicit market.
A Glass House spokesperson said it was unaware of the lawsuit, but did not respond to a request for comment.
No hearings are currently scheduled for the case, and there is currently no record of Glass House being served with a suit.
Connecticut records $23 million in cannabis sales in May
Connecticut raked in $23m in cannabis sales in May, up from $21m in the previous month, according to NBC.
Figures from the state Department of Consumer Protection showed that of the $23m in sales, $11.5m came from adult-use sales, while the remaining $11.2m was gained from medical cannabis sales.
The data also shows that adult-use sales have grown consistently in every month so far in 2023, with 292,000 products sold for recreational purposes in May.
Adult use sales, which were made legal in January this year, are now fast approaching medical cannabis sales, which saw patients purchase 312,000 products in May.
