CanniMed Pushes Back Against Aurora in Pot Takeover Battle
- CanniMed applies for regulatory orders amid hostile bid
- ‘All of this will be dealt with in court,’ Aurora says
Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg
The takeover battle between two Canadian medical marijuana producers is turning more acrimonious as CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. is raising new concerns that securities laws may have been violated by Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s C$582 million ($453 million) offer.
CanniMed has asked regulators in Saskatchewan and Ontario to weigh in on several complaints, including that Aurora’s hostile takeover bid be considered an “insider bid,” the company said Monday in a statement. The first company was involved in a long due diligence process to acquire Newstrike Resources Ltd. at the time of Aurora’s offer and lawyers need to take a “deeper dive” to determine if there was any breach of securities laws, said CanniMed Chief Executive Officer Brent Zettl.