Tilray Makes Public Debut Worth US$153 Million

A heavily anticipated initial public offering (IPO) from Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) finally made its debut on the Nasdaq with a higher price tag than expected on Thursday (July 19).

During its first day in the public market, Tilray’s stock delivered on the anticipation from the investor audience with an offering size of approximately US$153 million. The offering is expected to complete on July 23.

The cannabis producer started offering 9 million shares with an initial price tag of US$23.05 each–an increase from the original plan to sell between US$14 and US$16.

At the end of Thursday’s trading session TLRY was worth US$22.39 per share.

Tilray will trade its class 2 common stock shares with subordinate voting power under the ticker symbol “TLRY.” The producer’s parent company Privateer Holdings, a private equity firm based in Seattle, holds all of the multiple-voting shares, according to The Globe and Mail.

The shares owned by Privateer will be entitled to 10 votes per share for Tilray’s decisions involving shareholders.

The cannabis producer gave its underwriters in the US and Canada the option to purchase 978,600 and 371,400 additional shares over a 30-day allotment option.

Tilray gives investors another option for a massive cannabis producer with an established medical presence and distribution deals with provinces for recreational sales.

Tilray distribution agreements with B.C. and Manitoba for legal recreational cannabis products set to be sold by the government once the market opens on October 17. The deals were awarded to its subsidiary High Park Company.

Beacon Securities analyst David Kideckel told CNBC he doesn’t see a rush of other Canadian companies looking to launch offerings in a US exchange. However he does see dual listing possibilities.

Cronos Group (TSX:CRON; NASDAQ:CRON) and Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED; NYSE:CGC) already trade on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) respectively.

In Canada the TMX Group, which oversees the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), prohibited the exposure into the US cannabis sector from any listing. The alternative for companies with assets in the country is to raise capital in the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE).

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.