Transaction brings together world's most technologically
advanced vaporizer company and world's leading cannabis
company
Transaction will accelerate Canopy Growth's product device
development capabilities
SMITHS FALLS, ON, Dec. 6, 2018 /CNW/ - Canopy Growth
Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) (the "Company" or "Canopy
Growth") has finalized an all-cash transaction to acquire Storz
& Bickel GmbH & Co. KG, related entities, and
IP (collectively, "Storz & Bickel" or "S&B") for a
purchase price of up to approximately €145 million. With a 22-year
track record of breakthrough innovations, Storz & Bickel is
widely recognized as the global leader in vaporizer design and
manufacturing.
Based in Tuttlingen, Germany,
Storz & Bickel are designers and manufacturers of medically
approved vaporizers, most notably the Volcano® Medic and
the Mighty® Medic. Storz & Bickel has spent the last
two decades developing an automated and internationally certified
factory, achieving ISO 13485 certification in 2009. The
company has exported devices to 50 markets around the world.
The acquisition will see Storz & Bickel's eponymous founders
Markus Storz and Jürgen Bickel
remaining as a part of the organization to continue driving the
business forward alongside Canopy Growth's management.
"Joining Canopy will enable S&B to take the next significant
development step forward. Access to Canopy Growth's extensive
portfolio of test laboratories as well as pharmaceutical and
medical-scientific know-how opens up entirely new product
development opportunities," said Jürgen Bickel, CEO, Storz
& Bickel. "I am looking forward to actively shaping this
development personally in a senior leadership position. On the one
hand to ensure continuity and on the other hand to accelerate the
development together with the Canopy team to lead it to
unprecedented heights."
"We view this as a marquee acquisition of the most recognized
technology company in the industry," said Bruce Linton, Chairman & Co-CEO, Canopy
Growth. "This Company is well positioned for the next wave of
federally-regulated products in Canada beyond dried flower and edible oils. By
combining Canopy's existing designs and Canada's open environment for federally
permissible R&D with Storz & Bickel's deep IP portfolio and
management team, Canopy Growth is poised to lead the high-margin
vaporizing category around the world."
Storz & Bickel is a globally executing, profitable business
with proven products and consistently increasing revenues. Its IP
portfolio of 17 filed patents will improve Canopy Growth's existing
vaporizer design operations, overseen by Chief Technology Officer,
Peter Popplewell, PhD.
Drawing on talent from Ottawa's
world-renowned tech ecosystem, Canopy Growth has a team of hardware
and software engineers developing a line of advanced vaporizing
devices.
Peter Popplewell commented, "S&B quite literally
invented the vaporizer market. They make the best performing,
highest quality, and most respected products in the segment.
Leveraging their IP into the tech-heavy vaporizer designs we have
in progress will allow us to bring products to market that will set
a new bar in terms of quality, functionality, and consumer
safety."
An ISO 13485 certification means that the Storz & Bickel
facility has been scrutinized by external auditors and found to be
compliant with all requirements needed to produce medical devices.
It is a prestigious and onerous standards designation that will
give Canopy Growth a multi-year lead in the medically approved
vaporizer market. The German facility has the capacity to satisfy
growing product demand and based on Canopy Growth's existing
international footprint and access to Storz & Bickel's
production expertise, the Company is now well-positioned to lead
the vaporizer segment moving forward.
In addition to strengthening Canopy Growth's path to market with
advanced vaporizing technology, bringing Storz & Bickel under
the canopy strengthens the Company's German operations. With
European headquarters in Frankfurt, Canopy Growth also operates a
GMP-certified import and export facility in St. Leon-Rot where
medical cannabis is imported from Canada, packaged, labeled, and distributed to
approximately 2,000 pharmacies in Germany and other European markets.
Canopy Growth's substantial cash reserve is amongst its greatest
strategic advantages. Management will continue to add to the
largest and most sophisticated international production platform
with strategic acquisitions that improve its IP portfolio and give
Canopy Growth subsidiaries access to new markets by further
strengthening supply capabilities.
During the acquisition process Greenhill & Co. Canada Ltd.
acted as financial advisor to Canopy Growth and provided a fairness
opinion to the Canopy Growth Board of Directors.
Here's to Future Growth.
About Canopy Growth Corporation
Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp
company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in
dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms. From product and process
innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a
passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class
cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. The
Company has operations in 12 countries across five continents. The
Company is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners,
conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's
understanding of cannabis, and through its wholly owned research
arm, Canopy Health Innovations, has devoted millions of dollars
toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development.
Through partly owned subsidiary Canopy Rivers Corporation, the
Company is providing resources and investment to new market
entrants and building a portfolio of stable investments in the
sector. From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock
Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international
expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership
is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has
established partnerships with leading sector names including
cannabis icon Snoop Dogg, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green
House seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands,
to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates ten licensed cannabis
production sites with over 4.3 million square feet of production
capacity, including over 500,000 square feet of GMP certified
production space. For more information visit
www.canopygrowth.com
Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always,
forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the
use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not
anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases
or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could",
"would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth or its
subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements or information contained in this news
release. Examples of such statements include statements with
respect to "bringing new products to market that set a new bar in
terms of quality and functionality". Risks, uncertainties and other
factors involved with forward-looking information could cause
actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information, including the Company's ability to
incorporate S&B IP into Canopy's own operations and Canopy
Growth's ability to bring new product types to market,, and such
risks contained in the Company's annual information form dated
June 28, 2017 and filed with Canadian
securities regulators available on the Company's issuer profile on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the
assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking
information or forward-looking statements in this news release are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information
and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the
disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information
and forward-looking statements included in this news release are
made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not
undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking
information or forward-looking information to reflect new
information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by
applicable securities laws.
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SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation