The board of Aurora Cannabis unanimously recommended on 2 September that shareholders reject the takeover offer from Curaleaf. It is the first hostile bid the sector has seen since 2019. Both companies are listed in North America, but the asset they are fighting over sits in Europe: EU-GMP certified cultivation capacity and the channels that carry that product to the pharmacy counter.
What is on the table
Curaleaf is offering USD 0.75 in cash plus 0.3463 of its own shares for each Aurora share, capped at USD 5.00 per share. The bid formally commenced on 18 August, requires a minimum tender of 50 % and expires on 1 December 2026, the 105-day minimum set by Canadian rules.
Aurora’s board calls it inadequate: it values the company at a discount to comparable peers and offers no meaningful change-of-control premium. The board adds two arguments the bidder would rather avoid. Curaleaf carries more than USD 1 billion in debt, while Aurora presents itself as debt-free and growing. And Aurora shareholders would end up with 7.7 % of the combined equity but only 3.2 % of the voting power, because of the multi-voting share structure that concentrates 69 % of the votes in Curaleaf chief executive Boris Jordan. Aurora also insists it is not a distressed seller: fiscal 2026 closed with record global medical cannabis revenue and record adjusted EBITDA. Curaleaf replied the same day that its offer remains the best path to value creation.
The prize is in Europe
On its second-quarter earnings call on 5 August, Curaleaf acknowledged that only 20 % of its international supply comes from its own facilities and described the supply chain as one of its biggest issues. Aurora has exactly what Curaleaf lacks: four EU-GMP certified sites and roughly 33,000 square metres of cultivation, against the single small Portuguese facility Curaleaf operates. Aurora’s European medical revenue went from CAD 41.0m to CAD 131.8m between 2024 and 2026.
There is also a fresh acquisition in the mix. On 19 August Aurora bought Internode Pharma and HAP Pharma for GBP 2.1m: a licensed importer and wholesaler plus a pharmacy in Birmingham that give it direct control of the UK channel, from cultivation to patient. Whoever ends up with Aurora ends up with that infrastructure.
What it means for European businesses
- Concentration of certified product. If the deal goes through, a single group would control a substantial share of the EU-GMP cannabis supplying Germany, the UK and Poland. Fewer suppliers means less room to negotiate for importers and distributors.
- Check your contracts. Now is the time to review change-of-control clauses and renewal terms in existing supply agreements, before the outcome is settled.
- An opening for mid-sized operators. Aurora has opened the door to other offers. Any defensive move (asset sales, supply deals, alliances) creates gaps for those who are ready.
- A signal to capital. The return of hostile bids shows there are buyers willing to pay for production, licences and channel, not just for brands.
Nothing is settled until December
Aurora has also raised procedural objections: an insufficient notice period, the missing French-language notice required in Quebec, and the absence of the tax election that would let Canadian shareholders defer tax. Curaleaf has not publicly addressed those points. Three outcomes remain open until 1 December: a third party steps in, the price improves, or the bid lapses. In all three, the European supplier map shifts.
Deals like this are built long before they are announced, in direct conversations between producers, importers and distributors. That is what Spannabis B2B Bilbao 2027 is for: the International Cannabis Business Forum takes place on 11 March 2027 at the BEC VIP Room in Bilbao. If your company buys or sells product in Europe, book your ticket or request a B2B table to sit down with the counterpart you need.
Sources: Business of Cannabis and the Aurora Cannabis press release.