Tilray files for IPO, after Canada legalizes marijuana
Participant in the Toronto Global Marijuana March 2018. Photo by Arindam Shivaani/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Tilray, a Canadian cannabis cultivation and distribution company owned by Privateer Holdings, filed for a $100 million IPO.
Why it's a big deal: The filing came just one day after Canada's Senate voted to legalize recreational cannabis sales. Tilray currently focuses on medicinal marijuana, but says it will move into the "adult-use" space once legalization is implemented this October.
Tilray plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker TLRY with Cowen as lead underwriter.
It reports a $7.8 million net loss for both 2016 and 2017, although revenue grew from $12.6 million to $20.5 million. It had a $3.7 million net loss on $7.8 million in revenue for Q1 2018.
"Privateer... launched Tilray in Canada in 2014. It later received a license from the Government of Portugal in 2017 to import and produce medical cannabis in the European Union. In its filing, the company said it’s the first to legally export medical cannabis from North America to Africa, Australia, Europe and South America, but those overseas sales are a small fraction of its current business."
