UBC cannabis services spinout Anandia has been acquired by marijuana distributor Aurora Cannabis for $86.5m as Canada prepares to legalise the drug for recreational purposes.
Anandia Laboratories, a Canada-based cannabis research services provider spun out from University of British Columbia (UBC), has agreed to an acquisition by medicinal marijuana distributor Aurora Cannabis for C$115m ($86.5m) in shares.
Founded in 2013, Anandia supplies marijuana analytics and testing services such as cannabinoid analysis and cannabis genetics to research clients licensed under Canada’s medical marijuana regulations.
Aurora Cannabis will use Anandia’s resources to enhance its own capabilities and to propel product development, with Canada expected to legalise marijuana for recreational purposes later in 2018.
Anandia Laboratories was co-founded by Jonathan Page, an adjunct professor in the Botany Department at UBC, together with John Coleman, who previously led project search and evaluation for public-private research partnership Centre for Drug Research and Development.
The spinout previously closed a $10.8m private placement in January 2018 at a $50.7m post-money valuation, co-led by investment advisory firm Acre Capital Real Estate and investment fund York Plains Investment.
Cannabis distributor CannaRoyalty paid $3m at a $15.3m post-money valuation in February 2017 for a 20% share. By the time of the acquisition, it held a 16.5% stake worth $14.3m.
The university’s entrepreneurship@UBC Seed Fund had also backed Anandia Laboratories with an unspecified amount of funding, while nonprofit research agency Genome British Columbia’s Industry Innovation arm supplied an undisclosed sum in September 2016.
