white night looking to save the day Early search for CannTrust buyer underway amid Health Canada probe: Sources
As CannTrust Holdings Inc. (
) awaits its fate after running afoul of federal regulators, BNN Bloomberg has learned there’s early-stage interest behind the scenes to find a white knight that could potentially spare the cannabis producer from losing its licences if Health Canada exercises the full extent of its enforcement power.
Multiple sources directly familiar with the matter told BNN Bloomberg that at least two Canadian cannabis producers have been approached by bankers to gauge interest in acquiring CannTrust. Such a move could help keep the beleaguered company operating and stave off the worst-case scenario of losing its sales or processing licences as a result of unlicensed production at one of its facilities.
As well, one cannabis producer has reached out to Health Canada to inquire if the federal regulator would be amenable to another company taking control of CannTrust to ensure the company becomes fully compliant with growing and processing legal pot, one of the sources said.
So far, none of the producers that were approached to potentially acquire the embattled cannabis producer have expressed interest in advancing those discussions to a stage where a deal is close to being made, the sources said.
"The contingency liability is too high," said one of the sources, in reference to the potential legal and financial obligations that a buyer would inherit.