CRON Cronos Group Inc

By Robb M. Stewart

Shares of Cronos Group Inc. were under pressure Monday after the Canadian cannabis company was notified that a unit of Altria Group Inc. had abandoned a warrant allowing it to boost its stake in Cronos.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Cronos shares were 4.1% lower at 3.75 Canadian dollars ($2.74), for a year-to-date drop of 25%.

Before abandoning its warrant, Altria held about 41% of Cronos common shares. The warrant would have allowed Altria to raise its holdings to about 52% common shares.

In 2019, Altria bought a 45% ownership stake in Cronos and a warrant to buy up to 84.2 million additional shares, exercisable through March 8, 2023, at a price of C$19 a share.

Altria, which expects to claim a capital loss of $483 million on its U.S federal consolidated income tax return for 2022, said Cronos shares haven't traded above C$6 over the past 12 months.

Altria said it continues to own 156.6 million shares of Cronos for investment purposes.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 19, 2022 12:21 ET (17:21 GMT)

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