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A subsidiary of a Chinese company has acquired the remaining shares in Pijen, gaining almost complete control of Tasmanian Botanics, one of Australia's largest medicinal cannabis cultivators, in a deal valued at approximately $31 million.
Tasmanian Botanics is a cannabis farm and processing facility at Pontville, north of Hobart. A subsidiary of a Chinese company has taken on almost complete control of a Tasmanian medicinal cannabis business.
What's next? One of Australia's largest cannabis cultivators is now almost entirely owned by Chinese-owned firm Yongji Health. Company documents show Yongji, a subsidiary of a Guizhou-based company, has taken full control of Pijen, which owns more than 95 per cent of the shares in Tasmanian Botanics. Yongji was already a part-owner in Pijen but purchased the remaining shares from Australian shareholders in a deal worth about $31 million, according to industry publication Cannabiz.
Tasmanian Botanics cultivates, manufactures and packages medicinal cannabis products from a farm and processing facility at Pontville in southern Tasmania. ABC News: Ashleigh BarracloughThe company's chief executive, Craig Knight, told 936 ABC Hobart that while foreign investment could "sound ominous", there was no indication there would be any significant changes for staff or customers.
"It's been one of the things that has been crystal clear throughout the whole process," Mr Knight said. "They want the company as it is, if not bigger than it is, so there are no issues around job security or changes to operations. "More than 150 people work at the Tasmanian Botanics site, which includes a greenhouse and an outdoor crop of about 2.5 hectares, as well as packaging and manufacturing facilities.
Australian medicinal cannabis industry grapples with increased competition from overseas manufacturersMr Knight said Yongji had made a "significant investment", which showed the firm's confidence in the Australian sector.
"People don't invest this type of money into something they don't have confidence in — that's very much how I viewed it," he said. "We're now part of a bigger company … which also has other assets in the medicinal cannabis industry in Australia, so it's a pretty good synergy. "The cannabis farm boss said that while some might be concerned about foreign ownership, it was simply one of the realities of the business world.
"I can understand there's a world we would like to think everything that's in Tasmania is owned by Tasmanians,""But we're part of a bigger landscape, a bigger world, and sometimes people are interested in things here and it happens all over the world. "ABC News: Maren PreussYongji is a subsidiary of Guizhou Yongji Printing, a cigarette packaging company listed on the Shanghai stock exchange.
Tasmanian Botanics Yongji Health Medicinal Cannabis Foreign Investment Mergers And Acquisitions
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