Aurora Cannabis buys Hempco Food and Fiber hemp company

Aurora Cannabis announced on Monday that it had completed the purchase of Hempco Food and Fiber, after acquiring all its outstanding shares valued at 63.4 million Canadian dollars. Hempco is a supplier of hemp-based foods, fibers and nutraceuticals. Its brands include Planet Hemp food products and Praise nutritional supplements for animals. The hemp market is booming, particularly in Canada, where production has adapted accordingly. Hemp producers thus expect to double their production in 2019, according to Statistics Canada,

According to a press release Hempco provides Aurora with access to «low-cost, high-volume» raw hemp for CBD extraction. This purchase gives Aurora end-to-end control of the industrial hemp production chain, and gives the company a new brand, Aurora Hemp. Its «chain» now includes Agropro, Europe's largest producer of organic hemp; Borela, distributor of hemp products in the European Union; ICC Labs, based in Latin America and with access to CBD genetics; cannabis testing laboratory Anadia Labs; and Radient Technologies, which supplies extraction technology.

«Aurora is defining the future of cannabis and hemp globally,» said Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora. «With the addition of Hempco, we have built a world-class portfolio of high-quality hemp assets, which will enable the development of CBD from hemp worldwide. Aurora Hemp brings together cultivars, strategic partners, brands and distribution networks to serve the medical CBD, wellness consumption markets, and helps advance Aurora's entry into the US hemp and hemp-derived CBD markets.».

Aurora Cannabis seems intent on diversifying. The company has a CBD research program with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This partnership should make it possible to develop products for ROAR Sports, one of CBD's topical brands. Aurora is also expanding into Europe. The company recently won the supply contract for 400 kilos of medical cannabis in Italy.