Marijuana firm Curaleaf makes stock trading debut in Canada with $4B valuation
Published October 29, 2018 | By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn
Massachusetts-based Curaleaf made its trading debut on the Canadian Securities Exchange on Monday after a $400 million private placement.
The multistate cannabis firm raised almost three times its initial offering target of $150 million, giving the company a valuation of $4 billion.
Curaleaf, which changed its name in August from PalliaTech, is listed on the CSE under the ticker CURA.
Shares were trading at 9.50 Canadian dollars ($7.24) early Monday, compared with the offer price of CA$11.47 per share.
The offering was boosted by "an amazing reception" from investors, CEO Joseph Lusardi said.
The raise included investments from more than 100 institutional investors, including "some of the largest money managers in the world," Lusardi told Marijuana Business Daily. He declined to identify specific investors.
"We already have the largest number of stores under one brand in the country, and we're going to keep building on that strategy as we enter new markets and grow in the markets we're already in."
The company has nearly 30 dispensaries, 12 cultivation facilities and nine processing plants across 12 states, including Florida, New York and Oregon. It also has pending licenses in California and Pennsylvania.
The firm is on target to have more than 40 stores open by the end of the year, Lusardi said.
"Many of these markets are still very nascent," he added, "but we think all of these markets will be major growth markets."
The company's listing follows the completion of a reverse takeover (RTO) of Lead Ventures.
RTOs, which allow companies to go public by taking over a shell company with an exchange listing, has become the go-to path for many U.S. cannabis firms looking to tap into Canada's public markets.
Los Angeles-based MedMen and Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries completed RTOs in Canada earlier this year.
A slew of other companies also have announced RTO plans, including:
Denver-based MJardin and LivWell Enlightened Health
Harborside of Oakland, California
4Front Holdings of Phoenix
Chicago-based Cresco Labs
Lisa Bernard-Kuhn can be reached at [email protected]
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2 comments on "Marijuana firm Curaleaf makes stock trading debut in Canada with $4B valuation"
Lucas on October 29th, 2018 - 3:36pm
The underwriters did an irresponsible job in pricing this deal as it closed down over 35% where they priced it at $8.77US. Although the company has plenty of money to spend (or burn through), I would hate to be an institutional holders of stock in any capacity of size as the company has a long way to go to justify a $4B valuation.
All these "mom & pop" cannabis companies with no fundamentals or strong balance sheets trying to follow the path of the Canadian RTO will likely find themselves with unhappy investors as there seems to be a rush to go public in Canada and that will create an abundance of public companies all fighting over the limited liquidity. This will cause a situation where only the most credible ones survive in my opinion.
I would not be surprised to see this one trade down further and may have a very difficult time getting above the initial pricing of $8.33US anytime soon.
Maxcatski on November 2nd, 2018 - 8:22am
How can these illegal US companies list on the stock market? THEY ARE ENGAGED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITY.
I am gobsmacked. I would NEVER invest in a company that participates in illegal activities.