In an article published in the Lexpert Special Edition – Canada’s Leading Corporate Lawyers, Patricia Olasker shares her thoughts on the evolution and future of M&A in Canada’s cannabis sector.

“It’s certainly a very exciting” period in cannabis M&A, Patricia says, adding that because the big deals have had a U.S. nexus, the challenge has been “getting people on the other side of the border comfortable with our regulatory regime, and with the industry generally.”

Patricia sees cannabis M&A as moving in waves, with the consolidation wave being over and the current wave involving activity that “is not Canadian buys Canadian, but non-industry player buys industry player.” This includes the Constellation–Canopy and Altria–Cronos Group deals, as well the Molson Coors Brewing Co.–HEXO deal last year.

Now that hemp-derived CBD has been liberalized in the United States, Patricia predicts that Canadians will be looking to buy U.S. hemp assets, noting, “For Canadian companies, the holy grail is really being able to get a footprint into the United States. Some are already there, such as Tilray and Canopy.”