Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB) is a Canadian licensed cannabis producer. Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, ACB trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. ACB has 8 licensed production facilities and 5 sales licenses. The company operates in 25 countries, as of late September 2018. ACB has the funded capacity for over 625,000 kilograms of cannabis production per annum. Aurora Cannabis Inc. has major markets in Canada, Denmark, Latin America. ACB began trading on the NYSE on October 23, 2018 with the ticker symbol ACB.
Company History and Growth
- Founded in 2006 by Terry Booth, Steve Dobler, Dale Lesack, and Chris Mayerson.
- Secured 160+ acres in Alberta for the first facility and obtained a license to grow cannabis in 2014.
- Received a license to sell cannabis oils in 2017.
- Became publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2017 and NYSE in 2018.
- Acquired subsidiaries like Pedanios GmbH and CanvasRx.
- Merged with CanniMed Therapeutics in a Can$1.1 billion deal.
- Acquired MedReleaf in a $3.2 billion all-stock deal.
Financial Performance and Market Position
- Market capitalization of US$4.8 billion in June 2019.
- Experienced a $981 million loss in the second quarter of 2019.
- Lost over C$3 billion in a turbulent year.
- Expecting $2 billion in write-downs.
- Shifted U.S. listing to Nasdaq.
- Emerged as the world’s largest cannabis company after acquiring MedReleaf.
- Positioned to be a key player in the global cannabis market.
Legal Challenges and Operational Changes
- Faced class action lawsuits in the US in late 2019.
- Allegations of misleading public investors and challenges related to capital investments.
- CEO discussed poor retail performance in the Canadian cannabis industry.
- Suspended cannabis production in Denmark and Alberta.
- Listed non-operational greenhouse in Ontario for sale.
- Ceased construction of facilities to save costs.
- Closed a facility in Edmonton and cut 8% of the workforce.
Testing and Retail Operations
- All products tested by third-party labs with results displayed on Aurora’s website and app.
- Certificate of Analysis available for every product.
- Aurora had 17 retail outlets in western Canada in April 2019.
- Strategic partnership with Choom Holdings Inc. for retail.
- Acquired Clarity Cannabis Retail Stores and divested stake in Alcanna Inc. in 2020.
Partnerships and Acquisitions
- Denied a deal with Coca-Cola for marijuana-based drinks.
- Collaborated with Pedanios GmbH, receiving EU GMP certification and expanding sales to Italy.
- Acquired CanvasRx, BC Northern Lights, Urban Cultivator, Larssen, and H2 Biopharma.
- Purchased Canada’s top cannabis lab for CA$112 million.
- Acquired majority share of a vegetable seedling and flower supplier.
Aurora Cannabis Data Sources
| Reference | URL |
|---|---|
| Glossary | https:/glossary/aurora-cannabis |
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Cannabis |
| Wikidata | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47500199 |
| Knowledge Graph | https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/11gfhssscc |
| DBPedia | http://dbpedia.org/resource/Aurora_Cannabis |
| Product Ontology | http://www.productontology.org/id/Aurora_Cannabis |