Given that the U.S. marijuana market could dwarf Canada's, perhaps it's no surprise that the most aggressive acquisition and merger activity can be seen among vertically integrated cannabis dispensary operators. By vertically integrated, I mean a company that completely controls its supply chain, including growing and processing marijuana within the state(s) that it's also retailing the product. Since cannabis can't be transported across state lines, per federal law, this vertical integration is a means of keeping costs down while controlling production quality.
Although we've witnessed no shortage of deals in this space, no company has been more aggressive than Harvest Health & Recreation (NASDAQOTH:HRVSF).
For those who may not recall, Harvest Health made headlines five weeks ago when it announced the largest marijuana deal in U.S. history: an $850 million all-stock deal to buy privately held Verano Holdings.