Marlboro maker in takeover talks with cannabis firm Cronos

[Judi Lynn]

Canadian marijuana producer’s shares rise amid hopes of deal with Altria
Staff and Reuters
Tue 4 Dec 2018 13.16 EST

Altria, the maker of Malboro cigarettes, is in talks about a potential takeover of the Canadian cannabis producer Cronos as it seeks to diversify its business beyond traditional smokers.

Cronos shares were up more than 6% in early trading on Tuesday on New York’s Nasdaq exchange, pushing its market value to nearly $2bn (£1.6bn).

Canada legalised recreational use of marijuana this year, and the country is seen as a testing ground for marijuana companies hoping to expand globally as other countries follow suit.

Cronos said no agreement about a transaction had been reached, adding there could be no assurance such discussions would lead to an investment or any other transaction involving the companies.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/04/makers-of-marlboro-in-deal-talks-with-cannabis-company-cronos

[applegrove]

1. Vegetable growers in canada are switching to marijuana as it is more profitable

to grow. One factor in why food will be more expensive here in canada next year. I think there is going to be a glut soon.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/vegetable-growers-convert-to-cannabis-to-help-boost-margins/article37677955/

[forgotmylogin]

2. Aren't there food products that are made from hemp?

I mean actual food, not "edibles". I thought I've read that rotating cannabis as a crop is beneficial to the next crops that grow there.

Also:

Did you know that the roots of the cannabis plant absorb contaminating metals and transform them into harmless substances, without this affecting its growth? Italian farmers in the area of Taranto recently used industrial hemp to breathe life back into lands poisoned by one of Europe's most important steel mills.

https://www.dinafem.org/en/blog/cannabis-regenerate-soils-contaminated/

[applegrove]

3. I believe you if you say hemp is a healthy plant. I just don't want to pay more

for my vegetables in canada, which i will, because so many are jockeying for position in the multinational marijuana market.

[forgotmylogin]

4. Well...I've always read that marijuana is *literally* a weed.

It grows anywhere, including scrubland that wouldn't support other crops. So hopefully the cannabis industry is an expansion instead of a switch for agriculture on the whole. Giving farmers a new product to profit from is usually a good thing.

[applegrove]

5. These are indoor growing operations. They are replacing tomatoes with hemp.

Then we will have to buy from the USA or elsewhere in the Americas and there is going to be one of the el ninas or el ninos this year so prices of vegetables are already high going to be high. I guess Seagrams sold alcohol in canada during prohibition in the USA so they had a big jump in dominating the us market when booze became legal again. That is probably what all the investors are thinking: how to be in a dominant position when pot becomes legal in the rest of the world. I don't like pot myself.

[Lisa0825]

6. I am in a cannabis mutual fund that has a position in Cronos.

Looking forward to seeing it go up!