Just a month after purchasing Georgia-based craft brewer SweetWater, Canada cannabis co Aphria just agreed to merger with Tilray, Anheuser-Busch InBev's cannabis partner there. All-stock deal "will create a new powerhouse in the pot industry," sez The Street, "with an equity value of about" US $3.8 bil. Combined 12-mo revs for Aphria and Tilray pegged at C$874 mil, well ahead of Constellation partner Canopy's C$477 mil for 12 mos thru Sep. On CPG front, merger melds SweetWater's platform and skill set with that of branded hemp player Manitoba Hemp, which reaches 17K store doors and was acquired by Tilray in early 2019. And remember Tilray has established sophisticated bev plant in Canada, too. Thus, "when US regulations allow, the combined company expects to be well-positioned to compete in the US cannabis market given its existing strong brands and distribution system in addition to its track record of growth in consumer packaged goods and cannabis." Tho at one point in 2018 Aphria was widely reported to be discussing potential alliance with Diageo, that never panned out, leaving Aphria as one of a few major cannabiz players without strategic bev partner and easing way for deal with ABI-aligned Tilray.

Tom Louderback, an original member of the Oakland Raiders football team back in its days in the AFL in 1960 who went on to found Bay Area Beverage distributorship in Northern Calif, passed away a week ago on Tues at age 87, per Raiders.com and other outlets. "He was the oldest living member of the 1960 team at the time of his passing," per team site. "Tom had a 5-year professional career as both a linebacker and as an offensive lineman and was an active Raiders alum in recent years. The prayers of the entire Raider Nation are with Sonja and the Louderback family at this time." Tom's NFL career also took him to Philadelphia Eagles. Louderback grew up in Petaluma, Calif, telling a local paper his first job was a stint at local chicken ranch that paid 25 cents an hour. After retirement from football, he had a short run with East Coast brewer and, in 1969, founded TF Louderback Inc/Bay Area Beverage, which developed into significant Miller and Coors house and helped ignite Snapple brand on

Hydro One Premium Beverages, SC-based marketer of functional bevs under brand names like Bode, Revd and True that have shown impressive longevity in market, has spun off cannabis extension with probiotic twist called Canabix Wellness Water that initially will go out on Hydro One ecomm platform. Offered by Hydro One subsidiary called Medical Cannabis of America, Canabix employs 30 mg of THC-free CBD from Hemp Synergistics and adds unspecified quantity of LactoSpore probiotics, using erythritol and sugar sweetener combo to come in about 40 calories per 16-oz glass bottle. Hydro One cofounder/ceo Sammy Nasrollahi, a former professional soccer player who operates carpet biz in Greenwood, SC, said Canabix line was developed by immunologist and cancer research scientist Babak Baban. It's out in Peach Tea, Dragonfruit and Lemon Cucumber flavors. Sammy's been pushing out his functional bevs for 15 years now.

Covid-19 pandemic across globe certainly didn't slow down M&A activity. Or has it even sped it up? Turns out that "November was another big month for food and drink industry transactions," with Zenith Global tracking 85 deals in month. Activity was spread across "wide range of sectors," including 11 acquisitions in ingredients biz, 7 in snacks, 6 in soft drinks, 5 in alc biz, 4 in packaging. A half dozen of those deals exceeded $500 mil and most of deals took place in US followed by UK, Canada and France.

Loop Industries gained lots of hopeful attention and well-heeled corporate partners over past year with promises of a "revolutionary" process to recycle PET plastics with big yields at high speeds. But short seller Hindenburg Research planted seeds of doubt in detailed report earlier this fall, and conclusion this week of Loop's own independent review does little to allay concerns, with Hindenburg quickly declaring it a sham in harsh response. Loop's review "immediately admits that the verification 'was not intended to certify the yields or economic viability of the technology of the process.' These omissions render the analysis largely meaningless," wrote Hindenburg. A former Loop employee acknowledged to HR that without quantitative details on the process yield, Loop's results "mean nothing." Hindenburg gets more shots in noting its own 30-yr chemistry expert characterized Loop results as "non-technical marketing material" and "very misleading." Reminds too that its original report on Loop questioned why its initial funding "was facilitated through a convicted stock felon to why the company's two top scientists were in their 20s with no postgraduate education in sciences." Even before Hindenburg issued its rebuttal to Loop's rebuttal, LOOP shares were sinking, off 22% today, and range of class action suits are being readied, with one proposed suit contending that Loop mgmt "failed to disclose to investors that Loop scientists were encouraged to misrepresent the results of Loop's purportedly proprietary process." Co's positive statements about its operations and prospects "were materially misleading."

Functional bev WellWell, which embarked on crowdfund raise via Republic platform earlier this month (BBI, Dec 4), has easily broken thru modest $25K target, raising $138K in barely a week, with 3+ months still to go before window closes Apr 3. "Crazy traction," NY-based founder Sagan Schultz reported to us last week. WellWell is taking $100 minimum investments tho, with 192 investors aboard, avg so far has worked out to be $721. This past summer we'd profiled co's lean operating model that Schultz says has put co on path to profitability (BBI, Jul 27). Among brand's fans was a certain late jurist named Ruth Bader Ginsburg (BBI, Sep 21).

With both pandemic and long history of legal wrangling to blame, influential plant-based restaurant chain By Chloe that's been platform for cutting-edge bevs has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to story today in Nation's Restaurant News, parent co BC Hospitality Group has put chain up for sale, pursuing auction by mid-Feb, while obtaining debtor-in-possession that will enable it to continue operating in meantime. Eatery's ceo Jimmy Haber, whose daughter Samantha Wasser developed concept with Chloe Coscarelli, has stepped down, with chief of staff Catey Mark Meyers taking top spot on interim basis. Like most of its peers, By Chloe was severely hit by pandemic, shuttering 3 restaurants permanently and operating others at reduced capacity, with NRN citing bankruptcy filing indicating revenues have plummeted 67% since Feb. Cofounder Coscarelli had been terminated several years back, but has sued to reclaim her stake and won partial arbitration last year that, if upheld by federal court, would reinstate her interest and award her legal fees. But bankruptcy filing claims that's moot now.

At Future Smarts conference hosted by Beverage Digest last week, entrepreneurial spotlight was beamed on Super Coffee cofounder Jim DeCicco and Lemon Perfect founder Yanni Hufnagel, who bantered virtually with Digest owner/editor Duane Stanford. Lemon Perfect is just starting to climb the growth curve, while 5-year-old Super Coffee by now is more established, having ignited in NY over past year or so and lately rolling into distribution system of its recent minority investor, Anheuser-Busch InBev. (From what we hear Super Coffee has rolled out into over 150 A-B houses by now and is available chainwide at Kroger, Walmart, Target, Safeway and CVS.)