Curaleaf’s Hostile Bid For Aurora Is Official

Curaleaf has officially announced a hostile bid for Aurora Cannabis, offering $4 per share, or about a 45% premium on Aurora's 30-day average share price as of August 10. The cannabis company claims it can generate $40 million in annual cost synergies and that the combined company would have a market cap of $3 billion. Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan stated that the proposed deal provides immediate value and offers investors exposure to the growth of the U.S. legal cannabis market.

While both companies' shares rose on the initial announcement, hostile bids like this one typically fail more often than they succeed. Aurora's EU-GMP cultivation capacity, especially in Germany, is of particular interest to Curaleaf. Curaleaf believes the deal could position them as the premier public vehicle for blue-chip institutional and long-term investors.

However, the board at Aurora has formed a special committee to review the deal, and Jordan mentioned they have backup plans if the bid fails.