This is a copy of the August 19th edition of our weekly Newsletter, which we have been publishing since October, 2015.
Friends,
What a fantastic event in Toronto this week. Benzinga’s Cannabis Capital Conference had great attendance, terrific networking opportunities and informative content. Many told us that it was the best industry event for investors to date. We look forward to sharing more over the coming weeks, but we wanted to provide a few key takeaways.
First, our industry has gone global. Increasingly, Canadian capital is targeting the U.S. market, but many of the companies on both sides of the border are trying to figure out how to tackle markets together. A great example of this is the partnership between Compass Cannabis, a Canadian clinic operator focused on retail, and Colorado-based Starbuds. Technology company Sail is pursuing opportunities in Canada, the U.S and beyond. In his keynote address, Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld discussed how important the global markets are for his company. Aurora’s Marc Lakmaaker pointed to Europe as the largest near-term opportunity.
Second, we have clearly seen professional investors converge on the space. The audience was filled with family offices and other professional investors, many of which are relatively new participants or observers. While many of these were from Canada, the interest is from both sides of the border. One of the most interesting panels, “Perspectives on the Cannabis Investment Landscape,” certainly demonstrated the high caliber of those raising and deploying capital into the sector. The session was moderated by CNBC contributor Tim Seymour and included Harrison Phillips of Viridian Capital Advisors, Mitch Baruchowitz of Merida Capital Partners, Jeanne Sullivan, a general partner at Arcview, and Paul Rosen, CEO of Tidal Royalty.
Finally, we sense that the Canadian LPs are moving from measuring success by production capacity to other forms of value creation. Some are choosing to focus on certain parts of the supply chain, like processing, and most are recognizing the importance of brands. The bottom-line is that the forced vertical integration under the federal medical cannabis program will no longer be in effect, and these companies are moving quickly to position themselves to be more specialized. A great example is MediPharm Labs, the first LP to gain the license with no cultivation capabilities and to focus solely on extraction.
Kudos to the Benzinga team on the Toronto event. We look forward to the the next one, which will take place in Miami in February.
Sail Cannabis, a subsidiary of MVC Technologies Inc, is a North American technology company focused on simplifying medical cannabis with clinical data driven solutions. To learn more, visit the company’s page on New Cannabis Ventures and click the green Get More Info button.
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is some of the most interesting business content from this week:
- Exclusive: 22 Top Revenue Generating Public Cannabis Companies Ranked as of Mid-August
- Aurora Cannabis Provides Update on Operations in Europe, Australia, Africa and Latin America
- Cannabis Beverage Developer Province Brands Raises $10.95 Million Ahead of TSX Venture Listing
- CannTrust Sales Increase 99% in Q2
- Constellation Brands Boosts Boosts Canopy Growth Stake to 38% with C$5 Billion Stock and Warrant Purchase
- Exclusive: Creating Consistent Cannabis Products Through Genetics and Pharmacology
- Iconic California Cannabis Company Harborside to Go Public in Canada in Deal Valued at C$200 Million
- iAnthus Prepares to Capitalize on Florida Medical Cannabis Market Growth
- Indiva Gains Approval to Commence Cannabis Sales
- Kush Bottles to Serve Canada’s Legal Cannabis Market
- Maricann Makes First Medical Cannabis Shipments to Germany
- Maryland Bank Continues to Aggressively Bank Cannabis Industry
- Exclusive: SEC Filings Reveal BioTrackTHC Acquisition Cost and Slowing Growth
- Exclusive: The Drivers Behind CV Sciences Breakout Quarter of $12.3 Million in CBD Sales
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Sincerely,
Alan & Joel
