Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth Corp. has bought a majority stake in BioSteel Sports Nutrition, a Toronto-based producer of athletic nutrition and hydration products.
The cash transaction gives the Smith Falls, Ontario-based cannabis producer a 72% stake in BioSteel on the path to 100% ownership. Terms were not disclosed.
Canopy Growth says the acquisition is part of a growth strategy to enter new markets, according to a company announcement about the acquisition.
BioSteel was founded in 2009 with a focus on unsweetened sports drinks. Its products are distributed in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
“The use and acceptance of CBD-based products in the professional sports landscape has changed. We have witnessed the negative effects of prescription painkillers and athletes are looking for healthier alternatives,” said Michael Cammalleri, co-founder and co-CEO of BioSteel Sports Nutrition.
Canopy Growth CEO Mark Zekulin said the company views the adoption of CBD in future BioSteel products to be a “potentially significant and disruptive growth driver” for the business.
“This acquisition allows us to enter the sports nutrition space with a strong and growing brand as we continue towards a regulated market of food and beverage products that contain cannabis,” Zekulin said in a company statement.
Canopy Growth broke ground in July on a new industrial park for hemp processing in Kirkwood, New York.
The $150 million industrial park, set to open this fall, was Canopy Growth’s first move into the hemp sector and its first official step into the U.S. Canopy plans to extract and process hemp into CBD oils, topicals and consumables.
In June, the company said it will open hemp processing facilities in seven U.S. states within the next year.
Canopy Growth trades on the New York Stock Exchange as CGC.
