Curaleaf (TSX: CURA) chairman and CEO Boris Jordan joins Trade To Black, presented by Flowhub, for a live AMA built for Aurora Cannabis shareholders. Hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell put 15 pre-submitted questions — plus live ones — to Jordan on the record: Curaleaf’s US$4.00-per-share offer expires December 1, Aurora’s board has told shareholders to reject it, and both sides have taken the fight to the Alberta Securities Commission. Now shareholders get to ask the bidder directly, unfiltered.
In his opening statement, Jordan lays out the offer: for every 100 Aurora shares, holders receive US$75 in cash and roughly 35 Curaleaf shares, with about 80% of the deal in stock. He frames it as a 45% premium at announcement — now a 51% premium as of the prior night’s close after Curaleaf shares rose 7% — and, accounting for Aurora’s cash, a 110% premium he calls one of the highest in Canadian M&A in a decade. He walks through Curaleaf’s scale as the world’s largest cannabis company: operations in 15 U.S. states and 17 countries, $340 million in revenue last quarter, and expansion into Spain, France, and Turkey.
On Aurora, Jordan argues the company holds valuable but underutilized assets — its EU-GMP facilities and its leadership position in Poland — while contending mismanagement has left them underperforming, with the share price down 97% under current leadership. He says Curaleaf’s know-how and genetics could roughly double output from Aurora’s existing facilities, and pegs the combined business at more than $1.5 billion in revenue, roughly $350 million in adjusted EBITDA, and at least $40 million in annual cost savings — stressing this is a growth story, not a cost-cutting one.
Much of the conversation centers on Jordan’s frustration that Aurora’s board hasn’t engaged: no NDA, no counter-offer, no discussions. He questions why management sold stock through its ATM program as low as $2.60 in July — 35% below his offer — while telling shareholders $4 isn’t enough, and addresses the $5.00 exchange cap, framing it as protection for Curaleaf shareholders during the 110-day process. He says the offer is full and fair, with no counter and no white knight to justify raising it.
Jordan closes by urging Aurora shareholders to write their board and push for a negotiation, and confirms he’s looked at other Canadian targets if this doesn’t come together. The hosts note Aurora CEO Miguel Martin has an open invite to give Aurora’s side.
That’s a lot to weigh — give it a listen.
