Canopy, Acreage Plan THC Drinks For Next Summer

Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE:CGC) and Acreage Holdings, Inc. (OTC: ACRHF, ACRDF) announced today that following the implementation of their amended arrangement, Acreage developed a plan to market Canopy Growth’s THC beverages in the legal adult-use markets in the U.S.

Beginning with Illinois and California in summer 2021, Acreage said it will launch Canopy Growth’s THC beverages into markets as well as in its own dispensaries. Acreage said it will access existing distribution channels through its strategic corporate relationships of both Acreage and Canopy. At this time there are no beverages in the marketplace from the company. The website says that it has “Developed a proprietary process that distills whole flower cannabis into a clear liquid. We are using this liquid as an active ingredient in a wide variety of THC and CBD beverages, offering consumers an alternative to traditional drinks.”

“We have had an incredibly successful introduction into the Canadian cannabis-infused beverage industry with over 1.5 million cans of our THC-infused RTD beverage sold to date,” shared Canopy Growth CEO, David Klein. “We introduced a new product category to cannabis consumers that we knew had the potential to disrupt one of the most mature industries and since launching in Canada, Canopy Growth now owns 5 of the top 6 SKUs in the beverage category with a 74% market share. We are excited for Canopy’s beverages to be introduced to the U.S. market and know from recent BDSA reports that the United States represents a market that achieved roughly $60M in beverage sales in 2019.”

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), which has a big stake in Canopy Growth reported its earnings for the second quarter with revenue falling 3% to $2.26 billion. The losses from its position in in Canopy were $31 million. On a reported basis, earnings for Constellation edged up to $2.76 a share vs. $2.72 a year earlier. Despite bars and restaurants being closed in the U.S. due to the pandemic, the company said that liquor store sales made up for the closures. The pandemic though is causing slowdowns in Mexico.

“We see THC-infused beverages as a game-changer in U.S. cannabis, and we are excited to launch Canopy Growth’s unique beverage offerings to our core markets offering the greatest growth potential next year,” said Bill Van Faasen, Interim CEO of Acreage Holdings. “We are already working on our beverage production capabilities, and look forward to tapping the wealth of experience and research Canopy can offer following its successful entry in the category last year.”

Amended Agreement

Canopy and Acreage recently amended their previous agreement in which Canopy would acquire Acreage once the U.S. legalizes cannabis at the federal level (Triggering Event). The deal was originally valued at $3.4 billion. Instead, Acreage shareholders got an initial up-front payment of $37.5 million in connection with the modification of Canopy Growth’s rights, including the extension of the term, and give Acreage shareholders the ability to participate in upside potential upon the Triggering Event.

There are now Acreage “Fixed” shares and Acreage “Floating” shares which is causing a great deal of confusion amongst investors. The basic gist of the difference is that the fixed shares represent the 70% that Canopy is obligated to buy at .30xx and the floating shares are the 30% they have an option to buy at 30 day vwap or $6.41, whichever is higher.

Debra Borchardt

Debra Borchardt is the Co-Founder, and Executive Editor of GMR. She has covered the cannabis industry for several years at Forbes, Seeking Alpha and TheStreet. Prior to becoming a financial journalist, Debra was a Vice President at Bear Stearns where she held a Series 7 and Registered Investment Advisor license. Debra has a Master's degree in Business Journalism from New York University.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the latest cannabis news delivered right to your inbox

The Morning Rise

Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.

 Sign up


About Us

The Green Market Report focuses on the financial news of the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Our target approach filters out the daily noise and does a deep dive into the financial, business and economic side of the cannabis industry. Our team is cultivating the industry’s critical news into one source and providing open source insights and data analysis


READ MORE



Recent Tweets

Get the latest cannabis news delivered right to your inbox

The Morning Rise

Unpack the industry with the daily cannabis newsletter for business leaders.