Article content continued

That equates to around $47 a share, based on Aurora’s share price at the Wednesday close — nearly double the $24 offer Aurora made back in November when it launched its hostile bid. Aurora expects to issue between 72 and 84 million shares to fund the deal, and will make up to $140 million cash available for CanniMed shareholders choosing the partial cash option.

The agreement comes after the companies spent the better part of two months trading blows and recriminations. Last Thursday, however, a CanniMed shareholder approached Aurora and managed to bring the antagonists to the negotiating table, said Battley.

“It was the right thing to do at the right time,” said Battley. “Aurora was pursuing our strategy and CanniMed was pursuing their strategy. It was only in the last few days that we were able to get together and come to an agreement on what we wanted to achieve together.”

The merger still needs to be finalized by three quarters of CanniMed shareholders. But with 51 per cent of shareholder support now locked down, including the support of CanniMed’s previously intransigent CEO Brent Zettl, the merger seems a sure thing.

The resulting company will be an industry giant, according to analysts. CanniMed has a funded capacity of 18,000 kilograms a year, while Aurora has more than ten times that, coming from four facilities in Canada, one under construction in Denmark, and through its recent investment in The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd., which has facilities in Ontario and Quebec.