A global giant in generic drugs manufacturing is expanding into the CBD market through a new partnership with Colorado CBD manufacturer Kazmira LLC.
Perrigo Co., based in Dublin, Ireland, has invested $50 million for a 20% equity stake in Kazmira, located just east of Denver in Watkins, Colorado.
The deal calls for Perrigo to pay $15 million when the transaction closes, with the other $35 million paid within 18 months.
Perrigo’s minority equity investment initiates the first phase of the partnership, in which the companies will collaborate to scale Kazmira’s facilities and laboratories.
“As we continue to grow our business, we look forward to leveraging Perrigo’s regulatory and manufacturing expertise in concert with Kazmira’s proprietary technology for large-scale biomass processing,” Kazmira Co-CEOs Priyanka Sharma and Pulak Sharma said in a statement.
The second phase of the partnership will leverage a long-term supply agreement that will enable Perrigo to use Kazmira’s THC-free, hemp-derived CBD in products it will launch globally, with an exclusive supply agreement in the U.S. market.
The expansion into CBD products complements Perrigo’s growth strategy to provide consumers with quality, affordable natural remedies, according to CEO and President Murray S. Kessler.
“Consumers and retail customers want CBD products, and we believe they deserve a reliable source of broad-spectrum, THC-free CBD they can depend on,” Kessler said in the announcement.
Kessler added that Perrigo will be able to provide regulatory expertise and leadership in the emerging hemp and CBD industry.
Perrigo trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as PRGO.
