Benzinga | May 3, 2021 04:27PM EDT

Tilray, Aphria Close Merger, Create The 'New' Tilray

Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) and Aphria, Inc. (NASDAQ:APHA) have merged after months of negotiations, creating a company with a combined market cap of $3.3 billion.

The two Canadian cannabis giants had been in talks since December with Aphria's current CEO Irwin Simon to create a new enterprise.

In April, Aphria shareholders finally voted in favor of the merger. Tilray shareholders followed suit and approved the transaction on Friday.

The Merger Deal: Under the deal, each Aphria shareholder received 0.8381 of a Tilray share for each Aphria common share held on April 30.

* The resulting company, which is expected to generate roughly $81 million in annual pre-tax cost synergies within the next eighteen months, kept the Tilray name and will continue to trade on Nasdaq Global Select Exchange under the ticker symbol TLRY.

The company is also poised to debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "TLRY" on Wednesday, May 5.

Why It Matters: The new cannabis-focused CPG company will utilize Tilray's consumer packaged goods presence which relies on SweetWater, a cannabis lifestyle branded craft brewer, hemp as well as CBF brand Manitoba Harvest, which is available in over 17,000 stores in North America.

Moreover, the company will continue to boost its international presence by utilizing its medical cannabis brands, distribution network in Germany and the European Union's Good Manufacturing Practice supply chain.

Tilray announced recently that it will soon be entering the Portugal market after obtaining all regulatory and market permits to offer its medical cannabis products to consumers in the southern European country.

"Our focus now turns to execution on our highest return priorities, including business integration and accelerating our global growth strategy," Simon said Monday.

"Our global team is laser-focused on turning potential into performance and addressing consumer and patient needs for safe, innovative, and high-quality products," he added.

The leadership team of the newly combined company includes:

* Irwin D. Simon, chairman and CEO

* Carl Merton, chief financial officer

* Denise Faltischek, head of international and chief strategy officer

* Jim Meiers, president of Canada operations

* Jared Simon, president at Manitoba Harvest and Tilray Wellness

* Rita Seguin, chief human resources officer

* Dara Redler, interim chief legal officer and corporate secretary

* Berrin Noorata, chief corporate affairs officer

* Lloyd Brathwaite, chief information officer

* Freddy Bensch, CEO of SweetWater

The board of directors of the merged enterprise, which Simon will chair, includes:

* Renah Persofsky, ICD.D, vice-chair (lead director) and chair of the nominating and governance committee and independent director

* Jodi Butts, nominating and governance committee member and independent director

* David Clanachan, newly appointed independent director

* John M. Herhalt, chair of the audit committee and independent director

* David Hopkinson, member of nominating and governance committee, compensation committee and independent director

* Brendan Kennedy, current director and former CEO at Tilray

* Tom Looney, member of audit committee and compensation committee and independent director

* Walter Robb, chair of the compensation committee, member of audit committee and independent director

* M?s sobre Tilray y Aphria en Espa?ol en El Planteo:

* BofA Sobre Acciones de Cannabis: Alcista con Tilray y Canopy Growth, Cronos a la Baja

* CEO de Aphria sobre la Fusi?n con Tilray: la Nueva Empresa Estar? 'Lista para la Legalizaci?n'

Photo by Roberto Valdivia on Unsplash