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Duelling takeover bids involving a trio of Canadian cannabis companies are the latest sign domestic producers are racing to bulk up before the country’s planned legalization of marijuana by next July.

On Monday, Alberta-based Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced its intention to launch a takeover bid for Saskatchewan-based CanniMed Therapeutics Inc., another medical marijuana producer.

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The hostile bid, an all-stock offer which Aurora says could be worth up to $24 per share for CanniMed, comes a week after Aurora says it proposed a friendly offer to CanniMed’s board.

CanniMed instead announced a proposed all-share acquisition of its own for Ontario-based cannabis company Newstrike Resources Ltd.

The two companies say that transaction would create a company with a market value of more than $500 million, with CanniMed shareholders ultimately owning approximately 65.5 per cent and Newstrike shareholders 34.5 per cent.