Aurora Cannabis makes a new acquisition

The company has picked up Chemi Pharmaceutical Inc. in Ontario

Aurora Cannabis (TSE: ACB) has added yet another company to its ever-growing portfolio. According to an announcement from yesterday, it has entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire all common shares – issued and outstanding – in Chemi Pharmaceutical, Inc. The Ontario-based laboratory develops high-quality analytic services for the cannabis and pharmaceutical industries and the deal will see Aurora hand over cash and shares in the company.

Chemi is licensed by Health Canada Drug Establishment and is able to perform certified quality control analytical testing that complies with GMP (good manufacturing practice) policies. It is also accredited by the Food & Drug Administration in the US. The acquisition of the Drug Establishment license gives Aurora a critical component for the development of cannabis therapies in a global medical cannabis market.

Chemi will become part of Aurora’s wholly-owned subsidiary Anandia Laboratories, which will give that entity more analytic capabilities. The company’s president, John Coleman, states, “The acquisition of Chemi will enable Anandia to extend our best-in-class testing services to a broader group of licensed producers and scale alongside our current client base while providing the scientific capabilities to establish an early mover advantage in the upcoming cannabis edibles testing market. We look forward to integrating the Chemi team into our operations and working together to deliver the greatest scientific integrity to our clients.”

The cost of the acquisition has not yet been revealed. However, it will involve cash and over 100,000 Aurora shares. 83,299 shares will be handed over when the deal is closed and another 41,649 will be handed over as Chemi completes certain milestones.

Chemi GM Mariana Stavrikov states, “Chemi has been servicing the pharmaceutical, natural health product, cosmetic and veterinary industries for the last 20 years. As a trusted partner to a number of licensed producers, we are thrilled to join the Anandia team and expand our infrastructure and support to accommodate the incredible opportunity ahead in the cannabis industry.”