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Couche-Tard Increases Stake in F&F

Canadian multinational convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is planning to significantly increase its stake in Canadian cannabis retailer Fire & Flower. By exercising warrants, Couche-Tard — the owners of the Circle K franchise — intends to buy approximately 8.2 million shares which would see its stake in Fire and Flower rise from their initial investment of 14% in 2019 to 35%.

The Quebec-based convenience store giant exercised the warrants with the intention of acquiring a larger share of the major cannabis retailer after the release of F&F’s annual earnings on April 26. Couche-Tard initially made an investment in the Ontario-based company in 2019 before exercising share warrants in 2020 and 2021. They also lent the cannabis retailers in the region of $30 million in late 2021.

Circle KPrior to this recent share increase Couche-Tard owned 21.5% of Fire & Flower shares as of December 2021, according to a regulatory filing. Fire & Flower trades under the name “FAF” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and is aiming to list on the Nasdaq exchange in the US moving forward.

A press release put out by Fire and Flower confirmed the move saying: “Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (collectively “ACT”), has confirmed its intention to exercise warrants (the “Series B Warrants”) to acquire 8,288,067 common shares of Fire & Flower (the “Shares”) pursuant to the terms of a Second Amended and Restated Warrant Certificate dated January 18, 2022 (the “Series B Warrant Certificate”) on the day that is two days following the release of the company’s financial statements for the year ended January 29, 2022.”

Fire & Flower is a leading, technology-powered, adult-use cannabis retailer with over 100 corporate-owned stores across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and the Yukon territory. The company owns and operates the brands Fire & Flower, Friendly Stranger, Happy Dayz, and Hotbox.

Alimentation Couche-Tard is a global leader in the convenience sector, operating the brands Couche-Tard, Circle K, and Ingo. Apart from convenience stores the company offers mobility services including road transportation fuel and charging solutions for electric vehicles.

Tags: Alimentation Couche-Tard (11), Canadian cannabis industry (60), Cannabis Retail (394), cannabis retailer (79), Circle K (10), Fire and Flower (12), Toronto stock exchange (2)