Marlboro Maker Places $2.4 Billion Bet on Marijuana
Share
NEW YORK — One of the world’s biggest tobacco companies is diving into the cannabis market with a $2.4 billion buy-in.
Altria will pay another $1.4 billion for warrants that if exercised, would give Altria a 55 percent ownership stake in the Toronto company.
Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is taking a 45 percent stake in Cronos Group, the Canadian medical and recreational marijuana provider said Friday.Altria will pay another $1.4 billion for warrants that if exercised, would give Altria a 55 percent ownership stake in the Toronto company.
That would mean Altria’s investment would be in the same league as the $4 billion spent earlier this year by Constellation Brands to acquire shares of Canopy Growth Corp., another Canadian pot producer.
The August investment by Constellation, which makes Corona and other beverages, was the largest to date by a major U.S. corporation in the cannabis market.
Entering the Cannabis Market Appears to Be Fading
Whatever hesitation larger corporations in the U.S. had about entering the cannabis market appears to be fading if there is a financial justification.
Shares of Cronos Group Inc. jumped 31 percent and neared an all-time high at the opening bell Friday.
Altria’s huge investment lit up shares of cannabis companies that have begun to set up shop in Canada, where recreational use was legalized this year.Shares of Cronos Group Inc. jumped 31 percent and neared an all-time high at the opening bell Friday.
Rapid growth in the cannabis market is expected to continue as legalization expands in the U.S. and social norms change. On Tuesday, ultra-conservative Utah became the latest state to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes.
Consumers are expected to spend $57 billion per year worldwide on legal cannabis by 2027, according to Arcview Market Research, a cannabis-focused investment firm. In North America, that spending is expected to grow from $9.2 billion in 2017 to $47.3 billion in 2027.
Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis
Opinion /
3 hours ago
Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players
Sports /
3 hours ago
What the Republican Party Might Look Like if Trump Loses
Opinion /
4 hours ago
Vikings QB McCarthy Needs Surgery on Meniscus Tear in Right Knee
Sports /
4 hours ago
Japan’s Prime Minister Prepares to Step Down. Why, and What’s Next?
World /
5 hours ago
Michigan’s Sherrone Moore Looks Forward to Release of Text Messages in Sign-Stealing Investigation
Sports /
5 hours ago
Latest
Videos
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14125622/Apartments-damaged-by-falling-missile-debris-injury-several-people-in-Kursk-Russia-on-Tuesday-Aug.-13-2024.-Ukraine-pressed-ahead-with-its-assault-inside-Russian-territory-on-Tuesday-a-week-1024x538.jpg)
World /
2 hours ago
Ukraine’s Surprise Attack Has Forced Russia to Change Plans
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14092611/020924_FAST_FOOD_UNION_JAH_CM_00739.jpg-1024x576.jpg)
Politics /
2 hours ago
Californians Will Vote on $18 Minimum Wage. Workers Want $25 and More.
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14101619/041024-Ricardo-Lara-TS-CM-18.jpg-1024x576.jpg)
Opinion /
3 hours ago
Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/13163938/shutterstock_31288807-1024x576.jpg)
Sports /
3 hours ago
Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14103434/Former-President-Donald-Trump-raises-his-fists-at-a-campaign-rally-in-Harrisburg-Pa.-on-July-31-2024.-It-is-rare-in-American-political-history-for-a-single-figure-to-dominate-a-party-as-thoroug-1024x538.jpg)
Opinion /
4 hours ago