Canadian producer Cronos buys key grower in Dutch cannabis pilot

Canadian cannabis producer Cronos is set to take over Canadelaar, the leading Dutch grower involved in the government’s cannabis pilot program. The publicly listed firm is willing to pay at least 57.5 million euros for the company based in Voorne aan Zee, with the final price potentially climbing higher.

Canadelaar provides cannabis and hashish to most of the 72 coffeeshops involved in the cannabis pilot across ten municipalities in the Netherlands. The program is designed to test whether the country can oversee cannabis production, distribution, and retail within a fully controlled supply chain. That approach marks a shift from the existing tolerance policy, where sales are conditionally permitted, but the products originate from illicit growers.

According to CEO Mike Gorenstein, Cronos sees significant potential in the Dutch cannabis sector. His company hopes that the regulated sale of cannabis in the Netherlands will eventually be expanded to other municipalities, allowing the market for regulated cannabis to grow.

“The Netherlands has a rich cannabis culture, and its coffeeshops are known worldwide for the fundamental role they have played in the development of the legal cannabis industry,” Gorenstein says.

Cronos describes itself as a company focused on creating innovative cannabis products, offering brands aimed at recreational users as well as medical patients. The firm generated nearly 118 million American dollars in revenue last year, about 101 million euros, with the Canadian market being its most important.

In Voorne aan Zee, Canadelaar cultivates cannabis in greenhouse facilities and then processes and packages the harvest into a range of products, from marijuana and hashish to edibles and pre-rolled joints.