One of the largest tobacco companies in the world is getting into the cannabis game.
Altria , owner of Marlboro cigarettes, is making a $2.4 billion (USD) investmentinto Canadian medical and recreational marijuana company Cronos Group.
The investment is a 45% stake and Altria could pay another $1.4 billion for warrants that would increase its stake to 55% over the next five years.
Over this past year, Altria’s stock (NYSE:MO) has fallen nearly 5%, but its shares rose 25% Friday after this news was released and Cronos (NASDQ:CRON) rose 30%.
This news comes on the heels of a major investment made by multinational beverage giant Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) (maker of Corona Beer) to the tune of $245 million (CAD)in cannabis industry leader, Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED).
Nearly three months ago, Aurora Cannabis (TSX:ACB) made headlines when reports were rampant that it had been working on a deal with Coca-Cola. While the news was a boost to its stock, nothing further had been mentioned publicly.