Debra Borchardt
Canadian-based cannabis company Cronos Group announced that it expects that its common shares will begin trading on Nasdaq on February 27, 2018, under the trading ticker symbol “CRON.” Cronos Group will retain its listing on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “MJN.”
“This uplisting to NASDAQ is a major corporate milestone and reflects the significant progress we have made in strengthening our corporate governance and expanding our global footprint,” said Mike Gorenstein, CEO of Cronos Group. “We believe this will increase long-term shareholder value by improving awareness, liquidity, and appeal to institutional investors.”
Nasdaq has yet to respond to a request for a comment. The exchange has been reluctant to list cannabis companies on its exchange. The only related companies have been biotech names like GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) and Insys Therapeutics (INSY), Corbus Pharmaceuticals (CRBP), Cara Therapeutics (CARA), Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE) and Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA).
While High Times Media (formerly Origo)has been fighting to remain listed at the exchange, Nasdaq has continued to reject the company only to face appeals by High Times to remain. Nasdaq attempted to delist Origo in February of 2017 for not meeting the listing requirements of 300 shareholders. Origo submitted a plan to accomplish this in April of 2017 and Nasdaq granted an extension. In October 2017, Nasdaq agreed to allow Origo to continue listing the shares on Nasdaq through February 2018 in order to complete the merger. Then last month, Nasdaq said that Origo’s failure to hold an annual meeting for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2016, served as an additional reason to delist the shares. Once again, Origo responded and for now, Nasdaq has agreed to let the shares remain at least until the February date or upon review following the merger, whichever comes first.
Cronos Group operates two wholly-owned Canadian Licensed Producers regulated under Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations: Peace Naturals Project Inc. ( Ontario ), which was the first non-incumbent medical cannabis license granted by Health Canada, and Original BC Ltd. ( British Columbia ), which is based in the Okanagan Valley. It has multiple international production and distribution platforms including Cronos Israel and Cronos Australia. Through an exclusive distribution agreement, Cronos Group has access to over 12,000 pharmacies in Germany.
