Michigan Tracker
Overall sales in Michigan were down 3% sequentially in August, following suit with the rest of the country. Medical sales saw a more significant decrease than recreational sales, which is up 112% YoY. The most significant increases in categorical sales came from Shake/Trim and Vape cartridge categories growing 213% and 70%, respectively YoY. Michigan's annual run rate is $1.44 Billion for recreational and $500 Million for medical for a total of $1.94 Billion for the state.
ACB
The self-proclaimed "Canadian company defining the future of cannabinoids worldwide" announced yesterday that it had rescheduled its conference call to discuss the results for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2021 to Monday, September 27, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. On Tuesday, the company also said it would shut down a facility in Edmonton, Alberta, adding to the chances that ACB will not be the biggest loser of the Canadian pot producers. The company said medical distribution from the Aurora Polaris facility shut down would move to an adjacent factory called Aurora Sky, while manufacturing will move to its Aurora River factory in Ontario. "We aspire to be a leaner, more agile organization that keeps pace with our competition and is on a path to profitability," a spokesperson for the company said in an email statement. The company, however, did not disclose the number of employees that the move would impact.
House Approved SAFE
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to protect banks that service state-legal marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators, increasing the odds that banking legislation passes in this Congress. The bill is expected to come up for a vote on the House floor on Wednesday, after the debate Tuesday night. The SAFE Banking Act would make it easier for banks to provide financial services to the cannabis industry, though it would not solve all the hurdles facing cannabis companies. The SAFE Banking Act has taken a backseat in the Senate since Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden (Ore.), and Cory Booker (N.J.) introduced a cannabis decriminalization bill earlier this year. The NDAA has nearly 500 potential amendments, but it is also a must-pass bill without politicizing many other large packages. As a result, it typically passes the Senate by a large margin and usually includes amendments that don't directly connect to national defense. "It's not a great vehicle for it, but if it's a vehicle that can carry it … I think any vehicle's good that gets it to pass it," said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), one of the SAFE Banking Act's cosponsors. Cramer said he might work to help the banking amendment, should it make it to the Senate. "It's one of those things where you have to determine how much capital you spend, in terms of its priority," he said. "There are a lot of things in the NDA [that are] higher priority for me, like modernization of the nuclear triad."
SNDL Reacquires Valens Shares
Sundial announced that it had reacquired more than 10% of Valen's common shares outstanding. Sundial's average cost base for their own is $2.67 per share. On September 17, Sundial purchased 100,000 more shares in addition to the 18.5 Million it previously owned, bringing its total ownership to 9.99%. Sundial revealed that it had slowly been acquiring a stake in Valens back in May but was diluted after Green Roads and Verse Cannabis acquisition. With this recent purchase, SNDL brings its ownership back to what it was in the past. Sundial remains bullish on the name as we removed VLNCF from our long list due to our hesitancy on the Canadian market.
