Aurora Cannabis acquires testing experts Anandia

Aurora Cannabis Inc and Anandia Laboratories Inc is to acquire cannabis testing experts Anandia in a $115 million deal.

Anandia is one of the industry's most widely recognised cannabis experts is considered the industry leader in science, genetics, and independent cannabis product testing and by combining with leading cannabis producer Aurora, it will achieve access to significant new market opportunities in Canada and internationally through Aurora's global footprint.

Anandia is hoping that Aurora's capabilities and capacity in facility development will accelerate the construction of its testing and product development laboratory in Vancouver, and a unique, purpose-built cannabis breeding facility ahead of Canadian adult-use legalisation.

Anandia's cannabis testing services will remain operationally independent of Aurora and will remain committed to continuing to serving all of its existing clients. Anandia will continue to build capacity to take on the increased sample volume arising from legalisation, including expansion to its new testing facility in Vancouver.

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Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora said: “This is a transformative acquisition that expands our science capabilities in the upstream segment of the seed-to-sale cannabis value chain, significantly boosting plant-based innovations in cultivation, enabling accelerated product development, and, ultimately, enhancing our margin profile going forward.

“Anandia has a fantastic, complementary corporate culture and some of the best and brightest minds in the cannabis industry, including Dr. Jonathan Page, the first scientist to sequence the cannabis genome. By adding Dr. Page and the Anandia team to the existing Aurora and CanniMed research infrastructure, we are assembling a unique, world-class research group to capitalize on the many exciting opportunities the cannabis plant offers society.”

Dr. Jonathan Page, Anandia's co-founder and CEO added: “Anandia is already on its way to developing a world-leading library of cannabis genetics coupled with in-depth genomic analysis. We expect our breeding efforts to be accelerated through access to Aurora's financial resources and scientific expertise, as well as through the addition of Aurora's multiple cultivation sites. Anandia and Aurora are strong believers in research and science-based solutions. Joining forces with Aurora allows us to continue to provide best-in-class testing services to our customers, while rapidly advancing cannabis science for the benefit of patients, consumers and growers.”

Neil Belot, Chief Global Business Development Officer for Aurora added: “The expansion of Anandia's physical infrastructure combined with Aurora's rapidly growing global footprint, creates a unique platform to pursue a wide variety of market opportunities. The Transaction will greatly boost our competitive advantage in developing marketable intellectual property and high-margin products, and help address diversified needs on a global basis.”