Replies to post #14725 on Aphria Inc (fka APHA)

[FUNMAN]

Mr Simon raised a lot of money recently, and raised a lot of eyebrows when doing so. Now we know what he was doing.

IMO he knew months ago exactly when he would pull the trigger and what he was aiming at.

I don't foresee another USA acquisition before we see another round of fundraising. So let's see first if he telegraphs the signal.

i don't think irwin is done making moves involving the usa. - 'twister1'

[RiversRun]

Another piece of this puzzle that nobody is talking about is the future distribution of cannabis, beverages, edibles, etc. This acquisition is first and foremost a CPG "brand building" play. But in today's fragmented US cannabis distribution world, we only distribute through dispensaries. That is going to change immensely, so try to envision how weed will be distributed in 10 to 20 years

If anyone here is naive enough to believe that big pharma (including the CVS's, Walgreens', RiteAid's retail drug outlets) will not be selling these items once federal legalization is passed, you are not forward thinkers. These chains (along with alcoholic beverage wholesalers) have some of the most powerful lobbyists in existence. Don't think for a moment that the Federal government is not going to regulate the hell out of weed to get their "fair share" of the financial pie. In fact, I would go as far as to speculate that the short term "win" for all you Biden/Harris/Dem supporters, will most likely be a long term loss, as they will tax the shit out of our weed revenues and decrease profits, but that is a whole different story.

A key benefit of this acquisition, is the leverage on the wholesale side of distribution. Yes, STZ (as an importer) has leverage, AB is huge, Molson/Coors enormous...but the trend in the US malt beverage industry is that craft beers and their brewers represent larger margin potential for the distributors. I worked for AB wholesalers in FL for 20+ years...there is not much profit in domestic beer (per box or barrel). It is a commodity. Craft beer, craft weed, marketing to build brand??? That is where the money is...and that is yet another reason this acquisition is phenomenal. Margins are much higher in the craft world of beer, and will be (already are) in the weed world. The winners in the US on the weed side, will be the ones that build the brand loyalty (as perceived by the folks on the ground pushing it and profiting from it) to create pull vs push at a higher profit margin. This move is genius on many levels...pumps me up!

[dorothy52]

We shall see