Rubicon Organics Inc. has entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Medipharm Labs Inc. to acquire the former Canna Farms facility in Hope, British Columbia. 

Medipharm took over ownership of the 47,500-square-foot indoor cultivation facility as part of its 2023 acquisition of Vivo Cannabis, which had acquired Canna Farms in 2018.  

The purchase price for the Hope Facility is $4.5 million. It is subject to several conditions including the company’s satisfaction with due diligence, financing, and approval of the Rubicon’s board of directors. The Company intends to use the Hope Facility to increase its production capacity. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, with Rubicon projecting a first harvest in 2025.

“Acquiring the Hope Facility is a milestone for Rubicon Organics and further strengthens our premium production capacity, setting up Rubicon Organics to service the growing demand for our leading brand portfolio, and accelerating our growth beyond our existing footprint,” said Margaret Brodie, CEO of Rubicon.

The former Canna Farms facility was one of a handful of companies that received a commercial production licence in early 2014. It was also one of the first of these companies to post a profit while large pubcos continued to spend more than they brought in. 

Keith Strachan​​​​, president of MediPharm Labs, told StratCann in 2024 that the decision to ramp down production at the Canna Farms facility was made in 2023. This decision reflected, at the time, the declining price of cannabis and the small facility’s inability to compete with larger-scale growers, especially greenhouse growers. 

“We slowly stopped cultivating there due to existing inventory and market conditions and just the ability to buy bulk flower at a better price than what we can grow it for,” explained Strachan.

Rubicon operates a 125,000-square-foot hybrid greenhouse, certified by the Fraser Valley Organic Producers Association (FVOPA) for organic cannabis cultivation, located in Delta, BC, about an hour from Hope. 

In its most recent quarterly financials, Rubicon Organics reported $13.5 million in net revenue in Q3 2024, the three months ended September 30, 2024, the company’s highest revenue in eight consecutive quarters.

Rubicon sells three flagship brands: their “super-premium” Simply Bare Organic, premium brand 1964 Supply Co, cannabis wellness brand Wildflower, and the Homestead Cannabis Supply brand. As of the end of September 2024, Rubicon had over 294 unique SKUs available across Canada, with over 99% coverage of the addressable market in both non-medical and medical sales channels.

Featured image of the former Canna Farms facility in Hope, BC via Google Maps

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