CANOPY CONTRACTS, WRITES DOWN $550M

Canada’s Canopy Growth, sometimes called the world’s largest cannabis company, said it was halting several operations on three continents and expects its restructuring plan to result in a charge of up to C$800M (US$567M).
MarketWatch

• The company said it was selling operations in Africa, and curtailing hemp cultivation in the U.S. and Colombia. In recent weeks it has also shuttered several facilities in Canada.
  Global News
• The company is still the favorite Canadian weed stock of influential Cowen analyst Vivien Azer. 
• American liquor company Constellation Brands is a major investor in Canopy.
• Here’s Equity Guru‘s gimlet-eyed assessment.
• MarketWatch‘s Max Cherney also profiles Canopy competitor Organigram which was among the first companies to sound the alarm about Covid-19. It has laid off roughly half its staff.
• ????WW Canada has the best coverage of the Canadian industry.

Elsewhere on Wall St.: Business Insider takes a look at special purpose acquisition vehicles, or SPACs, the financial structures used to take many cannabis companies public. Investors have poured $2.8 Billion into cannabis focused SPACs since the beginning of 2019.

• This accounts for about 15% of all SPAC investments.
• Citigroup lead Bespoke Capital Acquisition Corp.’s $350M IPO in August, but much of Wall Street remains leery. “This is clearly a gray area.”

Quick Hit

1. An article in conservative journal The National Interest found, “Canada only has good news,” about legalization. “Nearly all the available evidence counters the core arguments of legalization opponents.”