(Reuters) – Top Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp said on Tuesday it was fast-tracking its entry into the United States by creating a holding company for its interest in U.S. partners Acreage Holdings Inc, Wana and Jetty.
Canopy’s U.S. listed shares rose 6.11% to $2.43 in premarket trade, with the deal expected to give the Canadian company a leading market share in the United States as soon as legally possible.
Canopy will not directly benefit from the transactions right away, as Canadian companies that grow or sell marijuana cannot do so in the United States, where weed is classified a scheduled narcotic.
However, with U.S. president Joe Biden asking for a review of that classification earlier this month, a change in legislation could allow Canopy to operate in the country directly.
In anticipation of those changes, Canopy on Tuesday outlined a complicated holding co structure to set up Canopy USA LLC.
Canopy will own non-voting shares in Canopy USA, which in turn will begin taking over Acreage, Wana and the other brands by using Canopy shares as currency.
(This story has been corrected to fix the day to Tuesday from Monday in paragraph 5)
(Reporting by Shariq Khan; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
