Alcanna Inc. changes hands
Cannabis producer Sundial wants to buy chain of liquor and weed stores

Canadian cannabis producer Sundial Growers Inc. said it will buy liquor and hash retailer Alcanna Inc. for C $ 346 million ($ 276 million) in stock, building on a strategy of vertical integration through store acquisitions.
Sundial, which is based in Calgary and listed on the Nasdaq, will pay C $ 9.12 per Alcanna share, the company announced on Thursday evening.
Alcanna's share price jumped at the end of August and the first half of September. The trading activity prompted regulators to request a statement on Sept. 15, confirming that it was in "early stage talks" with an undisclosed company.
Alcanna operates a network of 171 alcohol stores under the name Liquor Depot and two other brands, mainly in the oil-rich province of Alberta. It has spun off a cannabis retail chain into a separate company, Nova Cannabis Inc., in which it still holds a 63% stake.
"Alcanna's value-based model in the liquor retail industry has provided market stability and we believe repeating that model in cannabis has the potential to achieve a similar result," said Sundial Chief Executive Officer Zach George in a statement.
Nova has 62 stores selling marijuana in three provinces. When the deal is closed, Sundial would have control of more than 170 cannabis retail stores, Sundial said.
Alcanna shareholders would own approximately 16% of the merged company. "After reviewing various strategic alternatives for Alcanna over the past 18 months, I am confident that the deal with Sundial represents the best alternative for Alcanna," said James Burns, the retailer's CEO, in a statement.





