Sundial Growers to buy Inner Spirit for $131M, deal expected to close later this year

CALGARY -- Sundial Growers Inc. says it will purchase cannabis company Inner Spirit Holdings Ltd. in a $131-million deal.

The transaction will hand 86 Spiritleaf pot stores Inner Spirit owns and franchises to Sundial, which is a licensed producer of craft cannabis.

Inner Spirit's shareholders will receive 30 cents and 0.0835 of a Sundial common share for every Inner Spirit share they hold.

The offer amounts to roughly 39 cents per Inner Spirit share and is a 62.5 per cent premium based on the company's closing shares price on Tuesday.

The Calgary-based companies say the deal will provide "modest" synergies and help Sundial become a stronger and more diverse cannabis company.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by Sundial and Inner Spirit's board of directors, but still needs the approval of two-thirds of Inner Spirit shareholders, who will vote on the transaction in July.

The companies expect the deal to close early in the third quarter of this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2021.