Stamford-based cannabis giant Curaleaf Holdings has fired the latest salvo in its hostile takeover fight with Canadian company Aurora Cannabis.
Curaleaf announced in August that it intended to acquire Aurora Cannabis for $4 per share, saying the proposal represented a 45% premium to Aurora’s 30-day average share price.
The company said at the time it had initially approached Aurora privately in June and followed up in July after the Canadian company declined to engage.
According to Curaleaf, the proposed combination would create a cannabis company operating in 17 countries with more than $1.5 billion in trailing 12-month revenue and a market capitalization approaching $3 billion.
But Aurora has fought back, urging its shareholders to reject the hostile bid and saying the offer is inadequate and undervalues parts of its business. The company says it wants shareholders to back its standalone plan, which it says will create more value than a Curaleaf takeover.
In a statement issued this week, Curaleaf called Aurora’s statements “inaccurate and misleading.”
The lengthy statement addresses Aurora’s concerns point by point, calling them myths and saying it wants to help shareholders evaluate the choice.
“If Aurora’s assets are worth more, why has management been unable to unlock that value after years?” the statement says. It goes on, “Aurora is asking shareholders to continue supporting a ‘turnaround’ strategy that has had nearly six years to prove itself.”
Curaleaf also disputes Aurora’s assertions that the two had substantive discussions before its offer was rejected. Curaleaf claims that price was never discussed and Aurora turned down the proposal without discussing a counteroffer.
The Stamford company discusses the potential benefits of federal reform on cannabis, as rescheduling of the drug proceeds in Washington, D.C.
Curaleaf concludes that its ticker symbol, CURA, is expected to trade on “a major U.S. exchange” once the rescheduling process is completed.
