Canopy Growth Corporation has settled the final transaction to procure Storz & Bickel GmbH & Co. KG, related entities, and IP at a price of approximately €145 million.
Renowned for its pioneering vaporizer design and production, Storz & Bickel have had a successful 22-year run, leading the industry’s vaporizer segment. The acquisition is viewed to increase the development and design competency of Canopy Growth’s product equipment.
Founded in Tuttlingen, Germany, Storz & Bickel are creators of medically-approved vaporizers, especially the renowned Volcano® Medic and the Mighty® Medic. For the last two decades, the company has tirelessly worked on creating a mechanized and globally licensed factory which earned the ISO 13485 certification in 2009. The founders, Markus Storz, and Jürgen Bickel will continue to be a part of the new management aiming to drive the business forward alongside Canopy Growth.
Jürgen Bickel, CEO, Storz & Bickel ascertains that integrating with Canopy Growth will be a significant stepping stone for S&B.
With access to Canopy Growth’s widespread establishment of test laboratories as well as pharmaceutical and medical-scientific expertise, he is optimistic that the company would head into a new line of product development opportunities.
Working from a senior leadership position, Bickel aims to personally overlook and actively engage in the development process. He believes that this allows not only for a smooth work transition but also provides the opportunity to reach new heights in the industry by working alongside the Canopy’s team.
Bruce Linton, Chairman & Co-CEO, Canopy Growth, has commented on the acquisition to be of high value and regard. He stated, “By combining Canopy’s existing designs and Canada’s open environment for federally permissible R&D with Storz & Bickel’s deep IP portfolio and management team, Canopy Growth is poised to lead the high-margin vaporizing category around the world.”
Having exported products to over 50 markets across the world, S&B has been a globally active and profitable venture constantly churning out high-standard products and swelling revenues.
The company’s IP portfolio of 17 filed patents is slated to vastly enhance Canopy Growth’s existing designs of vaporizers. The cannabis company does have a dedicated team of hardware and software engineers who are constantly working to develop a range of innovative vaporizing equipment.
Peter Popplewell, the Chief Technology officer who manages the vaporizer design team at Canopy Growth, acclaims that S&B were the frontrunners in the vaporizer market, creating superlative, well-performing equipment of high standard and accountability in the segment.
Popplewell believes that integrating their IP into the tech-savvy designs of the vaporizer of Canopy Growth will allow for exemplary products that will revolutionize the market in terms of quality, utility and user safety.
The Storz & Bickel facility has been duly inspected by external auditors who found it to be agreeable to extensive standards required for medical product manufacture, thereby, acquiring an ISO 13485 certification.
This designation which comes after arduous protocol, evokes a high level of accountability and stability for Canopy Growth to attain a multi-year lead in the medically legal vaporizer market. Combining the might of Canopy Growth’s hold over the international market and production proficiency of Storz & Bickel’s, the German-based company now has the required manpower and resources to meet the growing demand of the consumers and dominate the vaporizer segment market.
The integration of Storz & Bickel not only aids in elevating Canopy Growth’s prominence in the market by offering pioneering vaporizing technology but also augments the company’s operation in Germany.
With Canopy Growth’s European HQ situated in Frankfurt, a GMP-certified import and export facility operates in the region of St. Leon-Rot where medicinal cannabis obtained from Canada is processed, packed, labeled and dispersed over 2000 pharmacies in Germany and other European countries.
Canopy Growth’s prominent cash supply places the company on a significant advantage over the market. With the administration team continuing to enhance its IP portfolio by strategic accretions, Canopy Growth hopes to build a widespread and sophisticated International production platform while offering its subsidiaries access to the new market by increasing their supply competence.
Greenhill & Co. Canada Ltd played the role of financial advisor offering a fair point of view to the board of directors of Canopy Growth through the accession process.
