TEAMWORK = DREAMWORK?
HEXO and Tilray announce plans to team up
After restructuring its board earlier this year and appointing a new CEO last fall, Canadian producer HEXO may have found a way to manage its debt problem, too. Tilray Brands has announced plans to acquire USD $211 million of senior convertible notes that had been issued by HEXO to HT Investments, according to a press release.
“The new terms of the notes are significantly more favourable to HEXO and will enable the company to strengthen its balance sheet and accelerate its transformation into a cash flow positive business within the next four quarters,” reads the release.
While they’re still in the top spot, HEXO’s market share in Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Saskatchewan has dropped by 37% since the beginning of 2021, according to the latest HiFyre data reported by Matt Lamers via BMO. Tilray, which is ranked fourth in the combined provinces, has dropped by 50% since the beginning of 2021.
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NORTHEAST OR BUST
Northeast market is a $50 billion opportunity: GTI CEO
Ben Kovler, the CEO of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, told Bloomberg that when it comes to his company’s growth in the US, he believes his company’s in about the second inning of a decade-long, multi-billion dollar game.
The highlights:
- Kovler says he’s not focused on his company’s declining share price, but rather building the “weightiest, meatiest company that has the longest term weight that will create value for all of our stakeholders.”
- GTI is fixated on emerging adult-use markets in the northeast, such as Virginia, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, which he says could exceed USD $50 billion
- Kovler added that he doesn’t see demand from consumers shrinking and that those revenues should help the stock price long-term
Kovler also said federal legalization isn’t as important to him and his company as social justice reform. “There are 40,000 Americans sitting in jail right now for marijuana offenses that should be out of jail,” he said. ‘Four thousand of those are in federal prison, and the President in one motion could get them out of jail. It makes no sense for us to have a business where we’re all gainfully employed where people are behind bars for essentially the same thing.”
OKLAHOMA!
‘Toke-lahoma’ may be short-lived
Oklahoma’s may be changing up its ultra-relaxed approach to cannabis regulation, which has created more than 12,000 cannabis businesses and America’s highest per capita rate of medical cannabis cardholders, reports Politico.
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and others have introduced “dozens” of new initiatives they hope will help current businesses be sustainable and ensure current regulations aren’t being exploited by illicit entrepreneurs.
So far:
- Licensed business numbers have dropped by 15%, partially by some failing to comply by a new rule that foreign ownership be declared
- But the glut of cultivators and dispensaries have driven prices to unsustainable levels
- The state will also begin using a seed-to-sale tracking system for the first time
New legislation includes:
- A moratorium on new medical licenses
- Stricter consequences for those who export product out-of-stale illegally
- Taxing supplies for weed cultivators who were previously exempt
The takeaway
GOP state Rep. Rusty Cornwell said many in the industry welcome the changes. “[Those in medical cannabis] want everybody to be in compliance, because they’re having a hard time doing legitimate business because of all the ones that are the bad actors in the industry.”
