Curaleaf Holdings filed a Notice of Variation and Change raising its unsolicited takeover bid for Aurora Cannabis by 25%, lifting total implied consideration to US$5.00 per Aurora share — an 86% premium to Aurora's unaffected share price of US$2.75 on Aug. 10. Under the enhanced offer, Aurora shareholders would receive 0.4013 Curaleaf subordinate voting shares plus US$1.00 in cash per share, with the cash component up 33% from the original bid and representing about 20% of the mix.
Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan said the company has met with a "significant percentage" of Aurora's shareholders who support the combination, and characterized the sweetened bid as a good-faith step "despite Aurora's refusal to engage and provide access to customary due diligence." Aurora's board has previously rejected the approach as undervaluing the company.
The hostile bid launched formally on Aug. 18 and expires Dec. 1 unless extended. A combined company would span 17 countries with more than US$1.5 billion in last-twelve-months revenue and at least US$40 million in expected annual cost synergies, according to Curaleaf.
The fight is one of the largest cross-border cannabis deals attempted to date and comes as the North American cannabis industry consolidates under pressure from price compression and regulatory uncertainty on both sides of the border.
