Canopy Growth Corp (CVE:CGC) (OTCMKTS:TWMJF) Becomes Cannabis Giant

Canopy Growth Corp (CVE:CGC) (OTCMKTS:TWMJF) will become a cannabis industry giant after getting court approval to complete its acquisition of Mettrum Health Corp. This was the final hurdle to clear and makes Canopy the largest cannabis player in Canada with six licensed facilities and a licensed production footprint of approximately 665,000 sq. ft. with significant acreage for expansion. Mettrum Health Corp will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corp.The deal is happening just in time. We here at Insider Financial expect recreational marijuana use in Canada to become legal sometime this spring. In December, we saw the Canadian Federal Task Force issues its recommendations on how to legalize recreational marijuana use. The proposals include a minimum purchase age of 18, federal oversight on production, provincial governments charged with retail distribution and maintaining criminal offenses for illicit production and trafficking. The Task Force was lead by Canada’s former attorney general and offered more than 80 recommendations on how Canada could become the largest developed-world country to legalize marijuana.The Mettrum deal is just the latest piece of the puzzle for Canopy as it cements its leading market position. Prior to the Mettrum deal, Canopy acquired German pharmaceutical distributor MedCann GmbH Pharma and Nutraceuticals. Canopy is using its strong share price to acquire entities in all stock deals. We believe the company is just getting started and expect a lot more deals to follow in 2017.Mettrum Health Corp brings a lot to the table for Canopy. Mettrum received its first license from Health Canada under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations on November 1, 2013 and began production of medical cannabis at its first production facility in Bowmanville, Ontario. Mettrum received its second license from Health Canada under the MMPR on December 11, 2014 for its other wholly-owned subsidiary, Agripharm Corp., at Mettrum Creemore facility in Clearview, Ontario. Mettrum received its third license from Health Canada under the MMPR on December 17, 2015 for Mettrum Ltd. at its new 60,000 square foot production and distribution facility in Bowmanville, Ontario. Mettrum is also a licensed producer and distribution of industrial cannabis (hemp) products, including Mettrum’s functional food line, Mettrum Originals.Earlier this month, Mettrum acquired all of the outstanding shares of 2344823 Ontario Inc., d/b/a Bodystream, a leading network of medical cannabis clinics with 14 current locations across Ontario. Prior to this acquisition, Mettrum also acquired Apollo Applied Research Inc, a referral-focused cannabis research clinic based in the Greater Toronto Area. The acquisition of Bodystream complements the Apollo acquisition and expands the reach of Mettrum's clinic network across Ontario, with the opportunity to expand beyond. Bodystream has operated since 2014 and has an active patient base of approximately 6,000 people.Last September, Mettrum entered into an agreement with Cannabis Care Canada Inc. to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Mettrum (Bennett North) Ltd., which is licensed to produce and sell dried cannabis and cannabis extracts for medical purposes. Under the terms of the agreement, CCC paid C$7 million in cash to acquire Bennett Road North and entered into a three-year Supply Agreement that is expected to generate up to $40mm in revenue for Mettrum over the next three years.Mettrum is focused on its Bennett Road South facility, which occupies 60,000 sq/ft on seven acres of land. Mettrum began construction to double its total production capacity, currently at approximately 6,000 kg per year, to 12,000 kg before the end of its current fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, and plans to have total production capacity of approximately 25,000 kg by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018.Currently trading with a market cap of C$1.23 billion, there's no better company positioned to capitalize on the Canadian cannabis market than Canopy Growth Corp. The Mettrum acquisition further strengthens the bull case for investors. With the marijuana recreational market expected to be worth C$7 billion to C$10 billion annually and Canopy already controlling 50% of the total Canadian medical marijuana market, there is still plenty of runway for Canopy's market cap to grow. And with roughly C$68 million in cash and its strong share price, look for Canopy to be announcing many more deals over the coming months.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on Canopy Growth Corp, sign up below!Disclosure: We have no position in Canopy Growth Corp and have not been compensated for this article.