Aurora Cannabis Appoints Nelson Peltz As Strategic Advisor: 'Solid Execution, Strongly Differentiated From Its Peers'

An activist investor has gotten his hands on Aurora Cannabis Inc ACB.

The company announced Wednesday it appointed Nelson Peltz, CEO and founding partner of Trian Fund Management, as a strategic adviser.

"Nelson is a globally recognized business visionary with a strong track record of constructive engagement to generate accelerated, profitable growth and shareholder value across many industry verticals that are of great interest to us," Aurora CEO Terry Booth said in a press release. "Like us, Nelson also takes a long-term view of value creation to benefit all stakeholders.”

Peltz will provide his services through 280 Park ACI Holdings. In exchange, Aurora has granted him options to buy nearly 20 million common shares at CAD$10.34. The shares will be vested over a four-year period.

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Why It’s Important

Peltz boasts a solid record influencing large, diverse corporations, where he’s led turnarounds or buyouts. He formerly served as a director on Mondelez International IncMDLZ, Heinz Company, Legg Mason Inc LM and Ingersoll-Rand PLC IR.

Currently, Peltz sits as the non-executive chairman of Procter & Gamble Co PG, Wendys Co WEN, SYSCO Corporation SYY, and Madison Square Garden Co MSG.

The billionaire investor will now advise Aurora on its global expansion and drive exploration of prospective partnerships to facilitate Aurora’s entry into targeted market segments.

"I believe Aurora has a solid execution track record, is strongly differentiated from its peers, has achieved integration throughout the value chain and is poised to go to the next level across a range of industry verticals,” Peltz said in a statement. “I also believe that Canadian licensed producers, and Aurora in particular, are well positioned to lead in the development of the international cannabis industry as regulations evolve, with a strong, globally replicable operating model.”

Aurora's stock traded up more than 10 percent in the pre-market session to $8.79 per share.

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