Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Curaleaf CEO and chairman Boris Jordan wants you to know he tried to do this the nice way.
In an interview, he defended his hostile $4 per share bid for Aurora Cannabis, said the rejection wasn't based on "legit reasons," and explained why he wants the only EU-GMP certified indoor cultivation in Canada. The paper trail backs his timeline. Whether it backs "friendly" is another question.
Jordan said he first spoke with Aurora CEO Miguel Martin at the end of June. Martin wasn't opposed to talking, Jordan said, but told him he would weigh any deal against his fiduciary responsibility. On June 23, Curaleaf sent a formal indication of interest, offering a mutual non-disclosure agreement and 30 days of exclusive reciprocal due diligence.
That letter, which Curaleaf later published on its website, confirms this part of Jordan's account. A follow-up call went nowhere, Jordan says. "This isn't actionable enough," he recalled Martin saying.
"I need to go to the board." So Curaleaf went to the board. Its July 7 letter of intent, addressed directly to Aurora's directors, offered $4.00 per share, a 41% premium to Aurora's $2.84 close on July 2, and requested a substantive response within five business days. It described the consideration as Curaleaf equity plus "a portion of cash" without specifying the split.
On Tuesday, Curaleaf took the offer public after Jordan said they received no substantive response: $4.00 per share in cash and stock, now framed as a 45% premium to Aurora's 30-day volume-weighted average price, or 110% excluding the cash on Aurora's balance sheet, capped at $5.00 per share if Curaleaf's stock rallies before the bid closes. Aurora then responded publicly. The company said that the July 7 letter never detailed the cash-stock mix, a claim borne out by the letter's own language, and that the $5.00 cap appeared only in the public proposal.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
