Aurora Cannabis Inc. is urging its shareholders to reject Curaleaf Holdings Inc.’s revised hostile takeover bid, saying the proposal “significantly” undervalues the company. According to Curaleaf, the new offer represents an 86% premium to Aurora’s unaffected 30-day volume-weighted average share price and a 217% premium on an ex-cash basis.
In a statement, Miguel Martin, executive chairman and CEO of Aurora, said the “revised offer still does not reflect the value of the company Aurora shareholders own today.”
“Aurora is debt-free with a strong cash position, and we believe the revised hostile bid continues to ask shareholders to give up that strength, and their future upside, at a discount,” Martin said in a press release.
Boris Jordan, chairman of the board and CEO of Curaleaf, responded that “Aurora’s board has a fiduciary duty to shareholders, which requires it not to take illogical steps to keep the highest bidder out of the room.”
“The board has locked out Curaleaf while granting diligence access to unnamed parties and cites selective sources to support its agenda,” Jordan said in a statement. He added that “None of that reflects a board acting in the company’s or shareholders’ best interests.”
The exchange marks an escalation in the public dispute between the two cannabis companies. Aurora has advised its shareholders to reject the revised hostile takeover bid, while Curaleaf has defended its offer as representing a substantial premium to Aurora’s recent trading levels.
The dispute between the two companies centers on the value of Aurora relative to Curaleaf’s revised offer, which Curaleaf says represents an 86% premium to Aurora’s unaffected 30-day volume-weighted average share price and a 217% premium on an ex-cash basis.
The outcome of the takeover dispute remains to be determined.
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