INVESTMENT SWING TO U.S. CANNABIS COMPANIES
BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB’S $74 BILLION ACQUISITION OF CELGENE The New York-based pharmaceutical giant recently announced that it would acquire Celgene, a Summit, New Jersey-based cancer drug company, in a cash and stock deal valued at $74 billion. Under the agreement, Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each Celgene share held. After factoring in debt, the value of the deal balloons to about $95 billion making it the largest health-care deal on record, and Bristol-Myers Squibb investors aren’t pleased however, Celgene shares have been up since the announce- ment. is flattening amid challenges of supply shortages and dis- appointing earnings, while in the U.S. the market is acceler- ating as more states legalize cannabis and the federal gov- ernment shows growing acceptance of cannabis, including legalization of hemp and its extracts. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $74 billion acquisition of Celgene The New York-based pharmaceutical giant recently announced that it would acquire Celgene, a Summit, New Jersey-based cancer drug company, in a cash and stock deal valued at $74 billion. Under the agreement, Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each Celgene share held. After factoring in debt, the value of the deal balloons to about $95 billion making it the largest health-care deal on record, and Bristol-Myers Squibb investors aren’t pleased however, Celgene shares have been up since the announcement.
It goes without saying that 2018 was the year of Canadian cannabis, but it is looking that the spotlight is shifting to the U.S. in 2019. When Canada legalized recreational pot in October of last year, investors have been eyeing the U.S. market in anticipa- tion that recreational marijuana, which is legal in 10 states, plus Washington D.C., will be legalized national south of the border. This anticipation gets investors eager to get in on the action as U.S. consumer spending on legal cannabis is expected to reach $20.9 billion by 2021 compared with $4.5 billion in Canada, according to a June report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics.
The sense from investors is that the Canadianmarket growth
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019
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