Pass it on: Marijuana hits tipping (tripping?) point in corporate world
The first major corporate acquisition of a manufacturer of medical marijuana was announced today when Constellation brands (owner of, among other things, Corona beer), announced it is buying Canopy Growth Corp. for $191 million.
Constellation pointed to the new opportunities posed increasing legalization of marijuana for medical and personal in the United States. Interesting things to watch in this sector include:
- Differences between medical and recreational marijuana markets in terms of competitive landscape (small business vs. large corporations).
- Acquisitions that this announcement will spawn (looking at you InBev, Altria and Pfizer!)
- The, as yet unresolved, difference between federal and state regulatory environments for marijuana
- Really, really funny investor relations announcements/corporate earnings statements put out by public companies in the marijuana business. I am imagining a Madison avenue PR flack telling a CFO that the words "Crippy" and "Indica" are material announcement that must be included in the 10K form as they represent material announcements.