Aurora Cannabis (ACB 1.36%) is divesting a large asset. The company is selling the entirety of its 9.2 million share stake of common stock in fellow Canadian company Alcanna.
This will be effected in a "bought deal" arranged with an underwriting syndicate, at a price of three Canadian dollars ($2.22) per share. That syndicate will turn around and sell the Alcanna shares to the public in Canada, and perhaps on the U.S. market, too.
All told, Aurora's sale should bring in around CA$27.6 million ($20.4 million) in gross proceeds, which represents a significant loss. It originally bought a nearly 20% holding in Alcanna in early 2018 for CA$15 ($11.10) per share, increasing that stake to roughly 25% later that year.
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The Alcanna stake remains considerable. According to a joint press release on the sale published by the marijuana company and Alcanna, the former's holding now comprises 23% of all issued and outstanding shares of the latter.
Alcanna's main stock in trade is alcoholic beverages; it operates over 270 liquor stores throughout Canada under several brand names. Following Aurora's 2018 investment, Alcanna branched out into marijuana retail, opening a chain of dispensaries called Nova Cannabis. At present, Nova Cannabis has a heavy footprint in Alcanna's home province of Alberta and also has a store in Toronto.
The new Aurora/Alcanna deal is expected to close on or about Wednesday, June 24. It's subject to closing conditions and approval from the relevant regulatory bodies.
On Thursday, Aurora's shares slumped by nearly 0.5%, broadly in line with the slight declines recorded by major equity indexes.
