Curaleaf Launches $272 Million Hostile Takeover Battle for Aurora Cannabis

NEW YORK – Curaleaf Holdings has launched a hostile takeover battle for Aurora Cannabis, publicly announcing plans to take a US$272 million offer directly to Aurora’s shareholders after failing to secure the support of Aurora’s board.

If completed, the deal would bring together two of the most recognizable companies in Cannabis and create a global operator spanning 17 countries. It would combine Curaleaf’s powerful U.S. and European distribution network with Aurora’s international medical Cannabis business and substantial EU-GMP production capacity.

But this is about more than two companies.

A successful takeover could accelerate consolidation across the Cannabis industry, increase pressure on other major operators to find partners and signal that the next battle for Cannabis dominance will be fought globally.

Curaleaf takes its offer directly to shareholders

Curaleaf intends to offer Aurora shareholders US$4.00 per share, consisting of 0.3463 Curaleaf subordinate voting shares and US$0.75 in cash for each Aurora share.

The proposal represents a 45% premium to Aurora’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price of US$2.75. Curaleaf says the premium rises to 110% when Aurora’s cash holdings are excluded from the calculation.

However, most of the proposed payment would be made in Curaleaf shares rather than cash. This means the final value received by Aurora shareholders would depend heavily on Curaleaf’s share price. The total consideration is also capped at US$5.00 per Aurora share.

Curaleaf first approached Aurora privately on June 23, 2026, followed by a second letter on July 7. Curaleaf claims Aurora’s leadership refused to engage in meaningful negotiations.

Curaleaf has now gone public and plans to take its case directly to Aurora’s shareholders.

“We will now take our proposal directly to Aurora shareholders because the premium is significant, the strategic rationale is compelling, and further delay is unjustified,” Curaleaf Chairman and CEO Boris Jordan said.

That decision turns what might have been a private negotiation into a public contest for control.

Aurora pushes back

Aurora disputes Curaleaf’s version of events.

The company confirmed receiving the two approaches but denied refusing to engage. Aurora said its lead independent director corresponded with Jordan as recently as July 24 and did not discourage further discussions.

Aurora also highlighted a potentially important limitation in the proposal. The offer includes a maximum value of US$5.00 per Aurora share, below the price at which Aurora shares traded as recently as December 18, 2025.

The message from Aurora is clear: the headline premium may look attractive compared with its recent share price, but that does not necessarily mean the company is being offered full value.

Aurora’s board plans to establish a special committee of independent directors to review the proposal, the company’s business plan and any other strategic alternatives available.

The board has not recommended that shareholders accept or reject an offer.

Why Curaleaf wants Aurora

The strategic attraction is not primarily Aurora’s position in the Canadian adult-use market. It is Aurora’s international medical Cannabis platform.

Aurora has built a presence across Europe, Canada, Australia and other regulated medical markets. It also has more than 50 metric tons of annual EU-GMP cultivation and manufacturing capacity, including capacity added through its recent acquisition of Safari Flower Company.

These are valuable assets in markets where pharmaceutical-grade production, regulatory approvals and established distribution relationships create significant barriers to entry.

Curaleaf already has major U.S. operations and an expanding international network. Its European business includes positions in Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland, supported by cultivation, processing, clinic, pharmacy and distribution infrastructure.

Combining that network with Aurora’s medical expertise and production capacity could give Curaleaf greater control over its global supply chain—from cultivation and manufacturing to distribution and patient access.

Curaleaf says the combined company would generate more than US$1.5 billion in trailing 12-month revenue and nearly US$350 million in adjusted EBITDA. It also projects at least US$40 million in annual cost savings.

Those numbers are compelling, but they remain Curaleaf’s projections. Delivering them would require a successful integration across multiple businesses, regulatory systems and international markets.

The wider Cannabis industry should pay attention

If Curaleaf succeeds, this could become one of the most consequential Cannabis transactions in recent years.

The deal would demonstrate that the industry’s largest companies are no longer building strategies around a single country. Curaleaf is effectively trying to combine U.S. scale with European distribution, international medical expertise and pharmaceutical-grade production.

That could trigger a new