(Reuters) – Cannabis producer Green Thumb Industries has expressed an interest in merging with U.S.-based brewer Boston Beer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing a letter sent to Boston Beer founder Jim Koch.
In the letter, Green Thumb CEO Ben Kovler said the merger would allow his company, currently listed in Canada, to be listed on a major U.S. exchange, WSJ reported.
The report also attributed Kovler as saying that he would be able to make a superior offer for Boston Beer, and that while young people are drinking less alcohol, the U.S. cannabis market is ballooning.
Green Thumb, in response to WSJ’s report, in a statement said it would not comment. Boston Beer also declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Green Thumb’s reported move comes after Boston Beer said it was “fully focused” on its business as an independent company after the WSJ reported on Friday that Japanese whisky-maker Suntory Holdings was in early talks to acquire the U.S. brewer.
Suntory, however, said that it was not in negotiations to acquire Boston Beer.
A deal between Boston Beer and Green Thumb could be difficult to pull off, given that cannabis consumption remains illegal at the federal level in the U.S., the WSJ report added.
Shares of Boston Beer, which has a market capitalization of roughly $3.6 billion, were down about 2% in morning trade. Including session moves, they have fallen about 5% since market close on Friday.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum, additional reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
Comments