Weed in a can: Nanocap Althea locks in $4M to expand THC beverage play in US, Canada

Nanocap Althea Group (ASX:AGH) has locked in $4 million via a placement to expand its North American THC-containing beverage operations, an announcement firm enough to push up shares 10% to 2.2cps through this morning.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

This comes after the company first inked a joint venture halfway through last year to make headway into the U.S.

The placement, which reportedly attracted new Australian sophisticated investors (I’m going to start calling them sophies) was structured as a share placement and loan notes placement with two directors pitching in up to $120,000 combined.

The company was quick to highlight that on Monday.

While the company uses the term North America, it’s really the U.S. market it wants to penetrate.

It already has an established presence in Canada (remembering its microcap of $11M), but with RFK now in the hot seat at the U.S. health service, it’s probably safe to say there won’t be any restrictions or regulations in Althea’s way.

Of course, the THC-containing-product-market in the U.S., which includes just about every kind of edible product conceivable, could arguably be a tad saturated.

“With Canada as our foundation, we are leveraging our expertise to scale rapidly in the U.S,” AGH boss Joshua Fegan said.

“This strategic funding strengthens Peak North America’s leadership in THC beverages, solidifying our established presence in Canada and propelling our expansion.”

Althea picked up the rights to market a THC containing beverage product in Canada during the COVID years, but made moves last year via a JV to tap the U.S. market.

This was enough to get the $11M company with 500M shares on issue a reshare in the usually-higher-looking The Australian via a content partner.

Shares climbed to 5cps in the weeks and months after, but have since returned to just above 2cps.

AGH last traded at 2.2cps.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about Althea Group and be part of the conversations that move the markets.