AMERICAN firm Halo Labs has snapped up UK medicinal cannabis supplier Canmart in a share-based deal.
Kent-based Canmart was one of the UK’s first medical cannabis suppliers; debuting in December 2018, shortly after the UK changed its legislation to allow for cannabis prescribing in November of that year.
Halo is listed on the Canada New Stock Exchange. It has acquired 100% of Canmart’s shares from its two main shareholders David Keith Dean and Darran William Quinn.
In exchange the duo will receive Halo shares. Some of these will be related to performance targets, which include ‘selling legally imported prescriptions to 50 unique patients, and importing at least £150,000 of medial cannabis products at a cost low enough to generate profitable sales’.
NASDAQ Off For EMMAC
Prospective business partners Andina Acquisition and UK firm EMMAC Life Sciences have terminated their proposed tie-up which would have led to EMMAC listing on the New York NASDAQ.
This has fuelled speculation that, following proposals to open up the London Stock Exchange to cannabis companies, it will seek to list closer to home.
This follows last month’s announcement that EMMAC has started producing medical cannabis products in the UK.
EMMAC’s wholly-owned UK subsidiary, Rokshaw Laboratories, of Sunderland, recently received its first commercial shipment of medical cannabis active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) from the group’s Spanish-based extraction and manufacturing arm, Medalchemy.
Aquis Exchange-listed Ananda Developments updated the markets saying it had recorded a loss of £150,975 for the six months to the end of July.
It said it was proceeding with plans for its medicinal cannabis cultivation facility in Lincolnshire which would initially look to ‘genetically stabilise 65 strains in collaboration with Dr Dedi Meiri’s laboratory in Israel’.
Alphagreen Secures Over £1m
CBD and healthcare product market place Alphagreen has secured £1.1m of seed funding to help finance the roll out of new products and services, alongside its expansion into the US.
Participants in the seed round included Stockholm-based Enexis AB, US cannabis fund West Creek Investments and angel investors, including Igor and Oleg Tikhturov.
Work has begun on a medicinal cannabis farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Hilltop Leaf has received £690,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise for use in the construction of a 11,000sqm facility.
US Operators Storming Ahead
The US cannabis industry, given a massive shot in the arm following the recent elections, is forging head with its leading Multi-State Operators (MSOs) and ancillary businesses all showing strong performances in recent weeks.
New Cannabis Ventures Public Cannabis Company Revenue & Income Tracker shows double digit revenue growth for all top 10 companies.
This buoyancy in America is being reflected in a loosening of the capital markets. Verano Holdings has agreed to buy Florida-based Alternative Medical Enterprises, for an undisclosed sum, leading to the creation of creating one of the largest cannabis companies in the US, with 44 retail locations in 14 states.
Canadian Firms Look South
The merger gives Illinois-based Verano a presence in Florida’s medical market as well as a licence in Arizona – where adult-use market was sanctioned on Election Day.
Despite the post-Election rally for all North American cannabis stocks the issues plaguing the Canadian sector have led to some retreat.
Departures of senior executives, cash burn and underperformance won’t go away as witnessed in earnings reports from Supreme Cannabis, Aurora, MediPharm Labs and The Green Organic Dutchman.
However, both Aurora and Canopy have seen earnings improve and the continued progress in the US market is boosting their ambitions south of the border
Meanwhile Hemp Today reports that Chinese pharma giant Tasly Holding Group has invested $75m in industrial hemp firm Puyuan Miaosheng Group.
The partners are looking to to produce three tons of CBD and seven tons of full-spectrum oil from their Yunan hemp base by the end of 2022.
