A leading licensed producer of cannabis in New Brunswick will start trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the second-largest stock market exchange in the world, on May 21.
Moncton-based Organigram Holdings Inc., the parent company of Organigram Inc., is one of Canada’s largest cannabis producers and is reported to have a record net revenue of $26.9 million.
“I believe we’re the only New Brunswick-based company that’s currently on the Nasdaq,” said Ray Gracewood, senior vice-president of marketing and communications with the company.
“And I think listing on the Nasdaq opens us up to an entirely new investor base that will legitimize the company, I think, in the eyes of institutional investors,” he added.
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Gracewood said entering the Nasdaq will allow the company to appeal to new markets, such as ones positioned against millennial investors.
“We’re very diligent about international opportunities and understanding the importance of being an international player within the space. And we see our opportunity, being a Canadian licensed producer, as a unique opportunity not just to be a leader here in Canada but to be a leader around the world,” he explained.
For the past year, Organigram has been focusing on developing marijuana edibles for Canada’s cannabis edibles market, which is expected to be legalized in the country later this year.
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“Within the edibles world, we focused on chocolate as a product line that we think is going to be hugely successful and approachable by consumers,” Gracewood said.
The company has also been focusing on developing vaporizer bullpens, which Gracewood said is “the fastest-growing product type” in regulated U.S. states.
He said the company is also growing its production capacity from 47,000 kilograms to 113,000 kilograms per year, which is creating new job opportunities.
Gracewood joined the company three and a half years ago, when there were only 30 employees, but now the company’s employee base is getting close to 700.
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“Our intention is to continue to grow that job base as our capacity grows so when that capacity number of 47,000 kilograms goes up, then the plan will be that the employee base will continue to increase proportionately,” he said.
The company is also anticipating receiving its own research and development licence from Health Canada in 2019, which would give Organigram the ability to test products within its production facility.
Organigram Holdings Inc. will commence trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol OGI.