Shares in Cosmos Holdings (OTCQB: COSM) shot up by 9.4% to $3.50 after it snapped up Greek wholesaler Cosmofarm.
The Athens-based company supplies 1,130 pharmacies with a range of over-the-counter medicines and supplements, and it enjoyed sales of $14 million in 2017. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Cosmos Holdings chief executive Gregory Siokas was bullish about the takeover and said he looks forward to integrating Cosmofarm’s talented team within the company.
Cosmos Holdings is headquartered in Illinois, but it has offices in Harlow in the UK and Thessaloniki in Greece. It has a European network of more than 160 distributors, spread across 16 countries: Germany, the UK, Ireland, UAE, Denmark, Italy, France, Singapore, Spain, Lebanon, Russia, Jordan, Sweden, Poland, The Netherlands, and Greece.
Cosmofarm is about to move into a new 32,000 sq. ft. facility featuring robotic fulfilment, and that will allow it to increase its capacity by 20 times. It will see Cosmos Holdings significantly boost its presence in Greece, which could become a hotspot for the European medicinal cannabis trade.
The news has proved particularly exciting to International Cannabis Corp., which has an exclusive European distribution agreement for medicinal marijuana in place with Cosmos Holdings.
“International Cannabis applauds the acquisition of Cosmofarm, which further augments the company’s robust European distribution capabilities,” said chief executive Eugene Beukman.
He claimed that this deal demonstrates International Cannabis’ mandate of creating sustainable shareholder value. That might be a bit of a stretch, considering the transaction was made between Cosmos Holdings and Cosmofarm, totally independent of International Cannabis, but it does show that his firm is partnering with dynamic, ambitious companies.
Beukman pledged to leverage Cosmofarm’s distribution channels and robotic fulfilment capabilities to ensure more Europeans gain access to medicinal cannabis in 2019. It also gives International Cannabis a hub at which to manufacture and distribute white-labeled CBD products from its Greek industrial hemp cultivation operations.
Europe has been tipped to become the fastest growing region in the global marijuana market between now and 2023. It has 500 million potential consumers and many governments will underwrite prescriptions for cannabis, so North American companies are busy piling in. Cosmos Holdings serves 36,130 pharmacies across the continent and International Cannabis believes it is well placed to capitalize on the potential of this market.
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