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American giant Curaleaf launches takeover bid for Aurora

Published on August 18, 2026 by Pat Bulmer

Photo: Contributed

Twenty-four hours after receiving an official takeover offer, Aurora Cannabis advised its shareholders to wait.

“Curaleaf made a strategic decision to make its offer public to pressure our shareholders into making a short-term decision for the benefit of Curaleaf shareholders,” said Aurora CEO Miguel Martin in a press release early Wednesday. “We will not do that. We are building this company for the long term.”

“Their objective is to acquire Aurora’s highly strategic EU-GMP facilities and leading medical cannabis platforms at the lowest price possible, thereby depriving Aurora shareholders of any current and future value they generate,” Martin added.

The Aurora release went on to dispute Curaleaf’s claims that Aurora is having performance issues.
Aurora shareholders were advised to do nothing until the Aurora board makes a recommendation on Curaleaf’s offer. Shareholders have until Dec. 1 to decide, the release said.

American cannabis giant Curaleaf Holdings officially launched a takeover bid this week for the smaller Canadian giant, Aurora Cannabis.

Last week, Curaleaf revealed it had unsuccessfully attempted to woo the Edmonton-based company. After being brushed off, Curaleaf promised it was done playing the role of nice-guy suitor.

Curaleaf is offering Aurora shareholders the equivalent of $4 per share in cash and shares, which is a 45% premium on Aurora’s “unaffected share price,” Curaleaf says.

Aurora shares had been trading for about $2.75 before Curaleaf’s takeover interest became public. Shortly after the takeover bid was announced Tuesday, Aurora shares were trading for $5.08 on the TSX.

Curaleaf takes its offer to shareholders

“Today, we are putting this proposal directly in the hands of Aurora shareholders,” said Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan in a news release.

“We believe our offer provides immediate value and a unique opportunity to participate in the upside of a larger, more diversified global cannabis platform with meaningful exposure to the growth of the U.S. market. We believe this is a compelling opportunity for both companies and, most importantly, for shareholders.”

Jordan said Aurora isn’t doing as well as it once did. The Canadian company has shifted its focus entirely to medical cannabis. Aurora operates in Canada and internationally, although it has almost no U.S. presence.

Aurora faces pressure at home and abroad

“Given the reduction in Canadian medical cannabis reimbursement rates and the cancellation of German medical cannabis reimbursement, Aurora is facing significant headwinds in its two most prominent markets,” Jordan is quoted as saying. “These regulatory changes, coupled with consecutive quarters of underperformance, have led to a smaller, less profitable company than Aurora was when its shares traded at materially higher levels in 2025, yet the Aurora Board’s assessment of value appears to be anchored to that historical share price.”

Last week, Aurora disputed Curaleaf’s claims that Aurora was not considering its offer. Aurora said it would form a committee of independent directors to look at the Curaleaf proposal.

“We do not intend to make any further public comment regarding the proposal or the review process unless and until we determine that additional disclosure is in the best interests of shareholders or required by applicable securities laws,” a statement from Aurora said at the time.

Curaleaf battles unwanted attention

Since the initial expression of interest, Curaleaf has been battling unwanted publicity.

On Aug. 13, two days after Curaleaf made its desires for Aurora known, the company announced on X that: “Curaleaf categorically rejects the false and defamatory allegations recently published by certain online outlets, with circumspect timing and questionable motivations.”

The post went on to say Curaleaf has consistently followed all laws and financial requirements and no misconduct has been found by the company or by any people related to the company.

“These false allegations should be treated as what they are: noise put out in the market by parties who have an interest in defaming our company,” the post said.

Curaleaf did not say who was making the accusations or exactly what they were saying, but it appears the 133-word post is in response to an investigative journalism piece in an online publication called The Newsground.

Curaleaf is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and claims to be the world’s largest cannabis company by revenue. It has a few Canadian links. It trades on the TSX and has a cultivation facility in Brampton, Ont.

Curaleaf operates 164 dispensaries and 15 cultivation sites in 15 U.S. states. Curaleaf International has a presence in 16 countries.

Curaleaf shares were trading at $12.81 on Tuesday.

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Updated Aug. 19 with Aurora’s message to its shareholders.