Cannabis company Aphria has completed the acquisition of US-based SW Brewing Company (SweetWater Brewing Company).

Considered one of the largest independent craft brewers in the US in terms of volume, SweetWater offers a lineup of seasonal and speciality beers.

SweetWater’s brand portfolio is closely aligned with a cannabis lifestyle.

Aphria chairman and CEO Irwin D Simon said: “We are excited to take this significant step forward to build upon our existing foundation in cannabis with the acquisition of SweetWater and their complementary cannabis lifestyle brands.

“Together, our company will further diversify our product offering, broaden our consumer reach and enhance loyalty with consumers.”

Under the deal, SweetWater unitholders received $250m in cash and $50m in Aphria stock at closing.

To fund the acquisition, Aphria used the available cash on hand, which included recently raised funds under its At-the-Market equity program.

Simon added: “We are very pleased to welcome Freddy Bensch to our management team and the entire SweetWater organisation to the Aphria family.

“We look forward to expanding our addressable market and leveraging SweetWater’s existing infrastructure to accelerate Aphria’s entry into the US ahead of federal legalisation of cannabis to fuel sustainable profitable growth.”

For this deal, Jefferies served as financial advisor to Aphria, while DLA Piper (US) and Fasken Martineau Dumoulin (Canada) acted as legal counsel.

Arlington Capital Advisors served as financial advisor to SweetWater, and Winston & Strawn acted as legal counsel.

Earlier this month, Cannabis-infused beverage maker BevCanna signed a letter of intent (LoI) to acquire beverage manufacturer Naturo Group Investments (Naturo).

Under the LoI, BevCanna will purchase all issued and outstanding securities of Naturo, in exchange of nearly 50,000,000 of its common shares at a deemed price of C$0.40 per share.