One of the largest publicly traded cannabis companies in the world is betting big on something new: beer.
What’s happening:
- Cannabis company Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) has announced they will acquire four craft breweries from Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP)
Why it matters:
- Tilray has been rapidly expanding their presence in beverages, with a multitude of brands across alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic beer, cannabis infused drinks and CBD infused drinks
By the numbers:
- The new craft breweries being acquired by Tilray cumulatively have 112,000 different points of distribution across the United States of America
- Tilray now expects that their beer and beverage production will exceed 15M cases annually following this acquisition
Going deeper:
- Tilray has extensive cannabis operations in both the medical and recreational markets, which spans across Canada, the United States and Germany
The intrigue:
- Peter Thiel backed private equity fund Privateer was originally one of the largest shareholders of Tilray when it first went public, prior to the two companies eventually merging together through a share exchange
The fine print:
- The share price of Tilray is down nearly -99% from their all time highs, following an inability to meet the lofty expectations for profitability in the emerging cannabis space in North America
