Benzinga | Apr 21, 2021 12:00PM EDT

Aphria CEO Discusses Tilray Merger On 420, Says Combined Company 'Will Be Ready' For US Legalization

Aphria Inc (NASDAQ:APHA) CEO Irwin Simon appeared on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Tuesday to discuss the cannabis company's pending merger with Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY).

Aphria shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger with Tilray, and Tilray is holding its vote on April 30.

"We will get the vote done, I'm very confident of that. As I've said before, the merger of the two companies will be great for both sets of shareholders," Simon said on CNBC.

"And when the legalization of cannabis does happen, the new Tilray will be ready to make a major entry into the U.S. markets."

The cannabis CEO said he expects cannabis growth beyond North America in the coming years.

"I'll say it again, we may see legalization happen in Europe before it happens in the U.S.," he told CNBC.

"The problem is today, we don't know what legalization is today and what it will look like, so I'd rather pay more to have a good view and look through the partnership that we want to be a part of."

See also: How to Buy Aphria Inc. (APHA) Stock

The combination of Aphria and Tilray will be the largest cannabis company in the world, Simon said.

With the combination of cannabis knowledge and research from Tilray and the branding and marketing strategies of Aphria, he said the combined company will be the cannabis player in newly legalized countries.

Photo courtesy of Tilray.