Canopy Growth (CGC 1.74%), which is considered a leading marijuana stock, is reconfiguring itself with a pair of deals announced on Monday.
The first is the company's closing of its acquisition of U.K.-based Beckley Canopy Therapeutics. That entity, which focuses on the research of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals, was a joint venture it formed in 2018 with a think tank called Beckley Research & Innovation.
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In addition to bringing Beckley Canopy Therapeutics fully into its portfolio, the closing of the deal also gives Canopy Growth 100% of Spectrum Biomedical UK. This company was formerly a joint venture between Canopy Growth and Beckley Canopy Therapeutics. Spectrum Biomedical UK is a distributor of Canopy Growth's medical cannabis offerings.
Canopy Growth first announced the purchase of the Beckley Canopy Therapeutics stake in August. It did not disclose the price or the terms of the deal at the time, nor did it do so in Monday's announcement.
In the announcement, Canopy Growth said that with those assets fully owned, they "will now be integrated into the broader Spectrum Therapeutics organization to increase the breadth of the clinical research being pursued under the Spectrum banner and to combine continental European and United Kingdom commercial teams."
Also on Monday, Canopy Growth announced it has entirely sold out of its stake in AusCann Group Holdings (ACNNF +0.00%) in Australia.
This was effected with an off-market block trade for $0.15 per share. All told, Canopy Growth took in $6.3 million in gross proceeds from the sale. The company had owned a shareholding of just over 13% in AusCann, a producer of medical cannabis.
Canopy Growth says the divestment doesn't mean it's exiting Australia entirely or even fully divorcing its onetime holding. In the press release announcing the sale, the company said it "will allow us to sharpen our focus on our wholly owned operations in the market, while continuing to collaborate with our partners at AusCann."
Canopy Growth has a large cash position stemming from the huge investments plowed into it by alcoholic drinks maker Constellation Brands beginning in 2017. This has helped the company finance its numerous acquisitions. At the end of its most recently reported quarter, Canopy Growth had more than 1.8 billion Canadian dollars ($1.4 billion) in cash.
