Aurora Cannabis makes a ‘blessed’ buy of organic marijuana producer

Aurora Cannabis Inc. said Monday it intends to acquire the one of the last independent members of the so-called “blessed eight,” a group of marijuana companies given the first approval to move cannabis genetics from the black market into the legal regime.

Aurora ACB, +4.28% ACB, +6.26%  said it would pay up to C$175 million ($132 million) in stock for Whistler Medical Marijuana Corp., a privately held British Columbia-based producer of cannabis, which is known in Canada for its ability to produce organic cannabis. “I would call [Whistler] the crown jewel of organic cannabis production world-wide,” Aurora Chief Corporate Officer Cam Battley said in a phone interview. “It’s the first organic-certified company, and now we’ve essentially got the market to ourselves.”

Battley said Whistler will help with its near-term strategy of growing cannabis itself until the company is able to secure high-quality product from suppliers at a low enough price, which at the moment isn’t possible. [Read more at Market Watch]