Exhibit 99.1
APHRIA AND TILRAY COMBINE TO CREATE
LARGEST GLOBAL CANNABIS COMPANY WITH PRO FORMA
REVENUE OF
C$874 MILLION (US$685 MILLION)
Complementary, Scalable Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis Businesses
Strengthen Leadership Position in Canada; Expands U.S. and
International Reach through World-Class Cultivation, Manufacturing,
Diversified Product Portfolio and Distribution Footprint
Robust Supply Chain and Operational Efficiencies
Expected to Generate Approximately C$100 Million of Pre-Tax Annual Cost Synergies
Aphria and Tilray to Host a Conference Call and
Webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Leamington, Ontario and Nanaimo, British Columbia –
December 16, 2020 – Aphria Inc. (“Aphria”) (TSX:
APHA and Nasdaq: APHA), a leading global cannabis
company inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live
their very best life, and Tilray, Inc. (“Tilray”) (Nasdaq:
TLRY), a global pioneer in cannabis research, cultivation,
production and distribution, today announced that they have entered
into a definitive agreement (the “Agreement”) to combine
their businesses and create the world’s largest global cannabis
company (the “Combined Company”) based on pro forma
revenue1. The
deal is pursuant to a plan of arrangement (the
“Arrangement”) under the Business Corporations Act
(Ontario), and the implied pro forma equity value of the Combined
Company is approximately C$5.0 billion (US$3.9 billion), based
on the share price of Aphria and Tilray at the close of market on
December 15, 2020. Following the completion of the
Arrangement, the Combined Company will have principal offices in
the United States (New York and Seattle), Canada (Toronto,
Leamington and Vancouver Island), Portugal and Germany, and it will
operate under the Tilray corporate name with shares trading on
NASDAQ under ticker symbol “TLRY”.
The Combined Company, supported by low-cost, state-of-the-art
cultivation, processing, and manufacturing facilities, will have a
complete portfolio of branded Cannabis 2.0 products in Canada.
Internationally, the Combined Company will be well-positioned to
pursue growth opportunities with Aphria’s medical cannabis and
distribution footprint in Germany, and Tilray’s European Union Good
Manufacturing Practices (“EU-GMP”) low-cost cannabis production facility
in Portugal, which has export capabilities and tariff-free access
to the European Union (“EU”) to meet increasing global
demand for medical cannabis. In the United States, the Combined
Company will have a strong consumer packaged goods presence and
infrastructure with two
strategic pillars, including SweetWater Brewing Company
(“SweetWater”), a cannabis lifestyle branded craft brewer,
and Manitoba Harvest, a leading hemp food manufacturer and a
pioneer in branded CBD and wellness products. The Combined Company
is expected to have a strong, flexible balance sheet, cash balance
and access to capital giving it the ability to accelerate growth
and deliver attractive returns for stockholders.
Under the terms of the Arrangement, the shareholders of Aphria (the
“Aphria Shareholders”) will receive 0.8381 shares (the
“Exchange Ratio”) of Tilray for each Aphria common share
(each, an “Aphria Share”), while holders of Tilray shares
(the “Tilray Stockholders”) will continue to hold their
Tilray shares (the “Tilray Shares”) with no adjustment to
their holdings. Upon the completion of the Arrangement, Aphria
Shareholders will own approximately 62 percent of the
outstanding Tilray Shares on a fully diluted basis, resulting in a
reverse acquisition of Tilray, representing a premium of
23 percent based on the share price at market close on
December 15, 2020 to Tilray shareholders. On a pro forma basis
for the last twelve months reported by each company, the Combined
Company would have had revenue of C$874 million (US$685
million).
1 |
Based on the most recently reported quarterly
financial statements for Aphria and Tilray.
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