This is a copy of the July 1st edition of our weekly Newsletter, which we have been publishing since October, 2015.
Friends,
With 2018 now halfway behind us, we can reflect upon what has truly been an eventful beginning to the year. Some of the key milestones have been the first approval by the FDA of a pharmaceutical derived from botanical cannabis, the improving federal political outlook in the U.S. and the passage of the Cannabis Act in Canada, making it the first nation to legalize cannabis for adult access. While stock prices as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index and the Canadian Cannabis LP Index fell, this follows a very strong performance in the back half of 2017 ahead of California legalizing.
In the U.S., the big story this year has been capital-raising since mid-April, when President Trump signaled his willingness to defer regulation of cannabis to states. Recall that the year began with the rescission of the Cole Memo, a move by the Attorney General that resulted in a huge dislocation in the market as investors and operators feared the progress made over the past few years might come to a halt. We have seen dedicated cannabis-focused funds raising and deploying capital into leading public and private companies, and we note that there has been substantial investment from broader funds into the ancillary space as well.
In Canada, over $2.3 billion has been raised in primary capital raises by just the public licensed producers. This excludes warrant exercises and raises from pre-public LPs, ancillary companies and ACMPR applicants. This figure is double the amount raised cumulatively to date from late 2015, after Trudeau was elected, through the end of 2017. We continue to expect that the ancillary market will attract some investor attention, and we remind our readers that leveraged ETFs will be introduced shortly and could add some price volatility.
Looking ahead, we expect to see friendly capital markets open the door to more high-quality U.S cannabis operators (both direct and ancillary) going public, mainly through the Canadian Securities Exchange, though we are aware of a potential ancillary NASDAQ IPO as well. In Canada, we anticiapte the October 17th implementation of retail sales will galvanize global attention. Between now and then, we will learn more about distribution in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Finally, we believe that other geographies will command increasing focus, including Europe, Latin America and Africa, all of which are rapidly embracing medical cannabis.
Enjoy your holiday this week!
TerrAscend is a biopharmaceutical and wellness company that is committed to quality products, brands and services for the global cannabinoid market.
To learn more about TerrAscend, visit the company’s Investor Dashboard that we maintain on its behalf, click the blue Follow Company button in order to stay up to date with their progress.
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is some of the most interesting business content from this week:
- 4Front Raises $13.4 Million to Expand Branded U.S. Cannabis Dispensaries and Cultivation Facilities
- Aphria Closes Largest Canadian Cannabis Equity Offering to Date
- Aurora Cannabis Gains Access to $200 Million in Loans from Leading Canadian Bank
- Canopy Growth Q4 Sales Grow 55% as Inventory Exceeds $101 Million
- Breaking: CBD Leader Charlotte’s Web Parent to Go Public in Canada
- FDA Approves GW Pharma’s Cannabis-Derived Epidiolex to Treat Epilepsy
- Exclusive: How Professionals Are Moving Past Stigma and Forging Careers in the U.S. Cannabis Industry
- Leading Craft Beer Company to Offer THC-Infused Sparkling Water
- Exclusive: LeafLink Wants to Connect Cannabis Brands and Retailers from Coast to Coast
- Liberty Health Sciences Earns GMP Certification for Greenhouse and Production Facilities
- Namaste Technologies Seeks to Buy Back 25 Million Shares
- TGOD Enters European Cannabis Market through Danish Production Facility Joint Venture
To get real-time updates download our free mobile app for Android or Appledevices, like our Facebook page, or follow Alan on Twitter. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest cannabis investor and entrepreneur group on LinkedIn.
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Discover your place in the cannabis industry by visiting our Careers and Jobs Page and learn which companies are hiring aggressively.
Sincerely,
Alan & Joel
