One of Canada’s largest licensed medical marijuana producers got even bigger, buying rival British Columbia cultivator Broken Coast Cannabis for 230 million Canadian dollars ($185 million) in stock and cash.
Aphria, based in Leamington, Ontario, also expanded its presence in Australia, purchasing a 25% stake in an Australian MMJ producer for CA$2.5 million.
Aphria’s acquisition of Broken Coast bolsters the Ontario company’s production capacity ahead of this summer’s planned rollout of adult-use cannabis.
Broken Coast operates a licensed cultivation facility on Vancouver Island.
As part of the transaction, Aphria approved Broken Coast’s plan to triple the size of the Vancouver Island facility to 60,000 square feet, bringing the projected annual capacity to 10,500 kilograms by early 2019.
Aphria said the deal will boost its own forecast production to 230,000 kilograms a year.
The transaction was funded with CA$10 million in cash and the remainder in Aphria shares.
Separately, the company – traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol APH – invested the CA$2.5 million in Australian-based Althea in exchange for 25% of its shares.
Aphria will also provide Althea with packaged, co-branded cannabis oil and dried flower products for the Australian medical cannabis market.
Shipments are expected to commence this month.
In October, Aphria completed its first shipment of cannabis oil to Australian medical life science company Medlab Clinical.
