Aurora rejects Curaleaf's $4 hostile bid, EU export rights at the center

Cross-border cannabis exports to Europe have become the most contested asset class in North American cannabis, and Curaleaf's hostile approach to Aurora Cannabis is the clearest measure of that shift. Aurora fired back on Wednesday, the day after Curaleaf went public with a $4-per-share offer, urging shareholders to take no action and accusing its suitor of engineering pressure rather than a fair process.

Curaleaf's offer implies a 45% premium to Aurora's 30-day average share price, measured to August 10. That number has largely been absorbed. Aurora's shares have since risen about 34%, to $3.89, while Curaleaf's OTC-listed stock has gained about 6%, to $9.80. Both moves are unusual: acquiring companies typically see their shares slide on a deal announcement. Curaleaf's chief Jordan said in a recent interview that the market may simply like the transaction.

Aurora chief executive Miguel Martin said Curaleaf chose to go public with the offer to force shareholders toward a quick decision that serves Curaleaf's own interests. "We will not do that," Martin said. Curaleaf replied on social media, saying Aurora's response changed nothing and pointing to what it called billions written off, years of restructuring, bloated costs, and unmet commitments.

Jordan said the initial approach, in June and July, was meant to be friendly. When discussions with Martin broke down, the team decided to go hostile. Aurora's board has since formed a special committee to review the offer.

The asset at the center of the bid is Aurora's EU-GMP certified cultivation infrastructure. That certification allows the Canadian company to export medical cannabis to European markets, including Germany and Portugal, under smoother regulations than Curaleaf faces as a U.S.-headquartered firm: federal prohibition still governs cannabis in the United States. The read-through for the broader cannabis sector is that cross-border export capability now commands an acquisition premium that domestic production alone cannot.

Against that backdrop, Curaleaf's international business is expanding at 25-30% per year, Jordan said, compared with 5-10% in the U.S. Martin said Curaleaf's objective is to acquire Aurora's EU-GMP facilities and medical cannabis platforms at the lowest price possible. The sector-wide tension between international growth and U.S. federal constraints will not resolve before December 1, when Curaleaf's offer expires.

Related reading

• SK Hynix weighs multitrillion-won Japan chip plant as cross-border capex shifts