Canopy's Bruce Linton owes shooting at Constellation Brands – Quartz
Bruce Linton, co-founder of Canopy Growth, the world's largest listed cannabis company, was exterminated today.
Canopy said that Linton "will go down" as director and director immediately, and that Mark Zekulin will
Linton later said he was fired – and that Canopy & # 39; s new investors from the drinking world wanted him out.
"I think it's not right to say it's right," he said. CNBC. "I ended."
Constellation Brands parent of brands, including Corona beer, Modelo warehouse and Robert Mondavi wines, invested $ 4 billion in Canopy in August, which Linton called "rocket fuel" for the company's growth. The investment acquired a 38% stake in the company. A reorganization of the board gave Constellation the opportunity to appoint four of the seven board members. Canopy also appointed Mike Lee, a Constellation veteran, as CFO in May.
At the constellation's recent earnings call, CEO Bill Newlands said he was not "happy with Canopy's recent reported annual profit", which included a net loss of CAD 323 million ($ 247 million). Canopy, however, gives investors reasons to be optimistic, including a massive hemp-growing facility in New York that will help the company push the booming US CBD market. (Martha Stewart is signed as an advisor to the CBD segment.)
Cannabis companies are increasingly investing heavily in big money backers in tobacco, food, beverage and pharma markets. In 2018, the value of mergers and acquisitions in the cannabis industry increased $ 15 billion, of which more than a third came from tobacco and alcohol players.
Nevertheless, Linton's congenital Canopy (then called Tweed) in 2012 said he did not regret Canopy with Constellation's money. It was better than meeting the company as a competitor.
"It was very important for the company to take $ 5 billion, otherwise Constellation – which is a very powerful company, may have decided to put other oars in the water," Linton told CNBC. "When you take in a big check and you change the board, there is always some perceived risk. But it would be worse for the company if we didn't."
