The head of Canopy Growth’s retail operation leaves company after less than six months on the job

Canopy Growth Corp.'s chief retail officer Alan Gertner has left the company just months after joining Canada's largest pot producer. His departure, announced internally last week, was confirmed by Canopy representatives. Gertner was the former CEO of Hiku Brands Co. Ltd., the parent company of Tokyo Smoke, which was acquired by Canopy in July for $269 million. In a text message to BNN Bloomberg, Gertner said he's taking a sabbatical and plans to spend time with family. Canopy currently operates 16 cannabis stores across Canada, which includes 12 under the Tweed banner and four Tokyo Smoke locations.

Slang shares jump in first day of trading on CSE

Slang Worldwide Inc. shares jumped Tuesday after the company began trading Tuesday on the Canadian Securities Exchange through a direct listing. Slang has operations in Canada through Agripharm Corp., a licensed cannabis producer that’s 20 per cent owned by Slang and 40 per cent owned by Spectrum Cannabis Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Canopy Growth. Canopy also has a warrant that allows it to acquire another 15 per cent of the company, if the U.S. legalizes cannabis at the federal level. Slang owns several cannabis brands, including O.penVape, the second-best selling U.S. legal cannabis product and has products in 2,600 stores.

Organigram sees more M&A opportunity in Europe than in Canada

The CEO of Organigram Holdings Inc. says the company isn't actively pursuing any M&A deals in Canada. The head of the Moncton, N.B.-based cannabis producer says there is a dearth of market players in other countries that meet the Organigram’s criteria of producing low-cost pot. Instead, their focus is more on Europe where there may be more opportunity within the continent. Organigram CEO Greg Engel said the company did consider acquiring a “large-scale” producer but held back given how some Canadian greenhouse cannabis growers face low yields and some crop losses.

Big U.S. funds consider loans as a way to enter the burgeoning pot sector

Large U.S. funds are exploring how to get into the fast-moving cannabis sector through issuing loans to mid-tier marijuana producers, according to a report by Bloomberg. Cannabis producers have yet to issue straight bonds but are increasingly offering convertible debt, including about US$1.3 billion from the three largest firms since last June. Most cannabis companies have relied on equity to raise funds as traditional bankers shied away from the space as the drug remains banned at the U.S. federal level.

California politicians aim to ease pot taxes to boost state revenue

Five Californian lawmakers recently proposed a bill that would cut the state excise tax on marijuana sales to 11 per cent from 15 per cent for the next three years. The bill would also suspend a hefty cultivation tax imposed on producers in the state. The proposed legislation comes as the state, which is the biggest legal market of cannabis in the world, continues to fight black market dealers, most of which offer cheaper pot than can be purchased in legal stores. The impact on lower legal sales is being felt on the state’s coffers which reported it will generate US$355 million in tax revenue in its current fiscal year, down from an originally anticipated US$630 million.