Canada: Aphria buys Nuuvera for $826 million to «dominate» the international cannabis market

Mergers and acquisitions in Canada's cannabis sector are still in their infancy, but the numbers are dizzying.

After Aurora Cannabis acquired CanniMed Therapeutics for over one billion Canadian dollars, Now it's Aphria's turn to set her sights on Nuuvera.

Aphria, one of Canada's leading medical cannabis producers, yesterday announced the acquisition of Nuuvera, a Toronto-based company with numerous medical cannabis distribution licenses worldwide, for a cool C$826 million (€540 million).

Nuuvera's global presence extends to countries such as Germany, Italy (a market estimated at 6 billion euros), Spain, the UK, Malta, Israel, Lesotho and Uruguay. Aphria intends to strengthen its production capacities through Nuuvera's international medical cannabis distribution networks.

«This acquisition opens the door to key international markets,» said Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria. «It positions us to expand internationally and realize the potential of these new medical markets.»

Aphria is already present in Australia, among other countries. Both companies have the capacity to produce 77 tonnes of cannabis, but are already planning to build a 10-hectare greenhouse in Ontario.

«Stay tuned. There are other countries closer to us that are full of major opportunities for [cannabis] oil, harvested and extracted in Ontario, for markets where the margins are really interesting,» explained Vic Neufeld.

«Within a year, we hope to have 20 countries licensed with a commercial partnership. That's our vision.»

Aphria is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as is Aurora. 15 days ago, it bought Broken Coast Cannabis, a smaller producer of medical cannabis, for 136 million euros.