Toronto | Reuters – U.S. cannabis retailer Curaleaf Holdings Inc is raising about $400 million, almost three times its original target, in Toronto, in a deal that would value the company at close to $4 billion, people familiar with the situation told Reuters. The move by the Wakefield, Massachusetts-based company, which also owns cannabis cultivation […] Read more

U.S. pot firm Curaleaf to triple planned equity offering

Regulator finds cannabis company disclosures inadequate
Toronto | Reuters — A Canadian regulatory group said on Wednesday that it had found that the level and quality of disclosure by cannabis companies was insufficient. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which conducted a review of disclosure practices of 70 Canadian and U.S. cannabis producers, said some companies were inconsistent in complying with Canadian […] Read more

Cannabis firm Aurora in talks to buy both CanniMed, Newstrike
Toronto | Reuters — Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis is in talks with rivals CanniMed Therapeutics and Newstrike Resources to buy both businesses in a friendly deal that would create the nation’s top weed company, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The deal signals an easing of tensions following an offer in […] Read more

BHP said exploring stake sale in Saskatchewan potash mine
Toronto/New York | Reuters — Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton is considering selling a 25 per cent interest in its Saskatchewan potash mine project, a stake that could be worth close to US$2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move comes as activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has been pushing the company […] Read more

Agrium/PotashCorp merger set for shareholder approval
Toronto/Winnipeg | Reuters — The shareholders of Agrium and PotashCorp are set to overwhelmingly approve a merger of the two Canadian fertilizer producers, according to a source familiar with the situation, despite initial skepticism from Agrium investors. About 99 per cent of the votes from both groups of shareholders are in favour of the transaction, […] Read more

Fertilizer merger faces easier approval at home than in U.S.
Toronto/Washington | Reuters — Canada’s PotashCorp and Agrium are more likely to win approval for a potential merger in Canada than in the U.S., but U.S. rejection of the deal would scuttle it globally, competition lawyers said. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp and Calgary’s Agrium confirmed Tuesday they were in preliminary merger talks, toward a deal that would […] Read more

Couche-Tard reported in lead to buy Corner Store chain
New York | Reuters –– Convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is in the lead to acquire U.S.-based convenience store retailer CST Brands, according to two sources familiar with the matter. San Antonio-based CST owns and operates convenience stores and gas stations in Canada and the U.S., and it controls the general partner of gas station […] Read more
SunOpta pressured by shareholders after sluggish sales
Reuters – Canadian organic food company SunOpta Inc, already under pressure from U.S. hedge fund Tourbillon Capital Partners LP, is being prodded by a second activist shareholder to explore the sale of all or part of the company, according to sources familiar with the matter. Canadian hedge fund West Face Capital, which pushed SNC-Lavalin to sell […] Read more
Canadian medical marijuana firm PharmaCan going public
Toronto | Reuters –– PharmaCan Capital, a holding company focusing on the Canadian medical marijuana market, is set to go public next week, opening up for investors a basket of licensed producers and signaling the appetite for a growing industry. The Toronto-based company has significant stakes of eight medical marijuana producers, including five licensed by […] Read more