Tilray Brands, Inc. is an American pharmaceutical, cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company, incorporated in the United States, headquartered in New York City. Tilray also has operations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America, with growing facilities in Germany and Portugal. In December 2020, the company announced a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

with Aphria, and will operate under the Tilray name and its ticker symbol on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

History

Founded in 2014, Tilray was originally incorporated under the umbrella of Seattle-based

Privateer Holdings Privateer Holdings is an American private equity company that invests in the legal cannabis industry. Privateer Holdings is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and employs more than 350 people in seven countries. The company is building a divers ...

and was one of Canada’s first licensed producers. At the end of 2014, it secured the first institutional investment in the cannabis industry from Founders Fund, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund. In 2016, it became the first cannabis company to conduct a clinical trial approved by Health Canada. The trial evaluated the therapeutic potential of medical cannabis. In January 2017, Tilray was certified for good manufacturing practices. By October 2018, the company had raised $1.1 billion. In July 2018, it became the first cannabis company to trade publicly on a major U.S. stock exchange, opening on the

exchange at a price of $17 per share, which increased in September 2018 to $214 per share, and then descended to $29 per share by August 2019. The

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

raised million. In September 2018, Tilray became the first Canadian cannabis company to legally export medical cannabis to the U.S. for a clinical trial. In December 2018, the company signed a deal with Novartis subsidiary Sandoz to sell, distribute and co-brand Tilray's non-smokeable/non-combustible

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

products in legal markets worldwide. On June 19, 2018, Tilray announced the launch of High Park Company which operates in the adult recreational cannabis market to establish unique adult-use brands in Canada. Since September 2022, Tilray has been licensed by the Polish and Italian Ministries of Health to import and distribute THC25 medical cannabis throughout Poland and Italy.

Strategic partnerships and acquisitions

In 2018, Tilray announced it had entered into global alliance with Sandoz, a division of Novartis to co-brand and distribute non-combustible medical cannabis products in global markets where it is legally authorized.

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

dubbed this partnership as ‘big-pharma’s first foray into cannabis’. Also in 2018, Tilray announced a $100-million joint venture with the world's largest brewer, AbInBev to research non-alcohol tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)-infused beverages, through their respective subsidiaries,

Labatt Breweries Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Int ...

and High Park Company. In 2019, Tilray signed a $250 million revenue-sharing deal with U.S. based brand company, Authentic Brands Group, to leverage ABG brand names, such as Juicy Couture, Greg Norman, and

Nine West Nine West, also known as 9 West, is an American online fashion retailer which is based in White Plains, New York. It was founded in 1983 and closed its brick and mortar stores business in 2018. Its products continue to be sold at other retai ...

to create cannabis products. ABG has a portfolio of over 50 brands. In February 2019, Tilray acquired Manitoba Harvest, a hemp foods manufacturer, for $317 million from Compass Diversified Holdings. The acquisition allowed Tilray to use Manitoba Harvest's retail distribution network to enter the U.S. CBD market. Manitoba Harvest's products are available in approximately 13,000 U.S. stores and 3,600 in Canada. Also in 2019, Tilray entered into an agreement with Natura Naturals Holdings which owns 155,000 square feet of licensed cultivation

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

s in Leamington, Ontario. The acquisition doubled the cultivation ability of the company in Canada. In May 2020, Tilray announced closure of the High Park Gardens site (previously Natura Naturals) for

cost reduction Cost reduction is the process used by companies to reduce their costs and increase their profits. Depending on a company’s services or products, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the product development process affects cost: design i ...

s. In July 2019, Tilray acquired U.K.-based Smith & Sinclair to develop CBD-infused edibles. In August 2019, Tilray acquired Alberta cannabis retailer, Four20.

Merger with Aphria

On 15 December 2020, Aphria conducted a

reverse acquisition A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compan ...

of Tilray, creating the largest global cannabis company by revenue and geographic reach. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Aphria, Irwin D. Simon, stated that the merger strategy was to capture Tilray's business assets and public trading exposure in the United States and its free trade abilities in Europe, enabling potential for becoming a global operation. Irwin was named as CEO and

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

for the merged company, and Tilray CEO, Brendan Kennedy, will be a member of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. The merged companies will keep Tilray's name and trade under the Tilray ticker symbol, TLRY, on the NASDAQ exchange. By combining assets, the new Tilray company will develop craft beer and cannabis-infused beverages in partnership with

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...

, and have branded

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

and cannabidiol products. According to one source, the world market potential for cannabis products is $94 billion by 2025.

Preliminary clinical research

In partnership with University of Sydney, NSW Government, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Tilray participated in a clinical trial testing the efficacy and tolerability of medical cannabis as a possible treatment for the side effects of chemotherapy. Led by

The Hospital for Sick Children ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, in Toronto, Canada, Tilray provided a cannabidiol (CBD) oil product available in Canada to test the efficacy and tolerability of medical cannabis oil as a possible treatment for pediatric epilepsy ( Dravet syndrome). In partnership with the University of British Columbia, Tilray provided medical cannabis products used to test medical cannabis as a possible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. In partnership with the Grupo Español de Investigación en Neurooncología GEINO, in Spain, Tilray supplied medical cannabis products for the trial testing the efficacy and tolerability of medical cannabis as a possible treatment for glioblastoma. In 2019, Tilray signed an agreement with Cannamedical Pharma GmbH to export $3.3 million worth of medical cannabis from its Portugal facility to Germany, marking Tilray's first export from Tilray Portugal Unipessoal, Lda. Tilray also has a research partnership with

Coimbra University The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

in Portugal. In August 2019, Tilray announced a partnership with New York University to study the potential ability of CBD to treat

alcohol use disorder Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

and post-traumatic stress disorder. In partnership with New York University, Tilray supplied CBD for a clinical trial studying its possible efficacy for treating disorders caused by breast cancer treatments.

References

External links

* {{authority control 2018 initial public offerings Canadian companies established in 2013 Cannabis companies of Canada Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical industry Pharmaceutical companies of Canada Pharmaceutical companies established in 2013