Friday, December 28, 2018

Aphria spurns $2.8 billion purchase offer

Aphria Inc. of Leamington says a $2.8-billion offer from Green Growth Brands Ltd. of the United States is not enough for its cannabis business.

Green Growth announced an offer of 1.5714 of its shares for each Aphria share, representing a premium of 45.5 per cent over Aphria’s closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Dec. 24. The offer is based on a valuation of $7 per Green Growth share.

Aphria said on Friday Green Growth’s offer is “based on a hypothetical valuation of its own shares, with no relation to the current price.”

Green Growth chief executive officer Peter Horvath said merging the companies would be good for both.

“Together, we can unleash synergies between our teams, assets and geographies, forming a combined enterprise that will accelerate our collective growth strategies in Canada, the U. S. and overseas,” Horvath said.