Curaleaf sweetens Aurora Cannabis takeover bid after past rejection – Edmonton

Curaleaf Holdings Inc. said it would sweeten the offer made to buy rival cannabis company Aurora Cannabis Inc.

Stamford, Conn.-based Curaleaf. now wants to make an offer of US$5 per Aurora share. The offering will consist of 0.4013 Curaleaf shares plus US$1 cash, based on the closing price of Curaleaf shares on October 2.

The company said it increased its offer even though Aurora rejected its previous offer because Curaleaf wanted to signal that it was trying to negotiate in good faith and show that merging the cannabis businesses was feasible.

Over the summer, Curaleaf made an offer for the Edmonton-based company worth US$4 per Aurora share.

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The offer includes 0.3463 of Curaleaf’s subordinate voting shares plus 75 US cents in cash, based on the stock’s closing price on Aug. 10.

Aurora urged shareholders to reject Curaleaf’s initial takeover offer, saying the offer undervalued Aurora and was not in shareholders’ best interests.

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“Curaleaf’s announcement today is not a formal offer revision, and Aurora has not received the materials necessary to conduct a full and proper evaluation,” Miguel Martin, Aurora CEO, said in a news release.

“While the announcement indicates an intent to address the concerns Aurora identified with Curaleaf’s initial Hostile Offer, a Special Committee comprised of independent directors will review any formal revised offer upon receipt with the same rigorous, independent, and disciplined process previously implemented.”