Aurora Cannabis Inc (TSE:ACB) (OTCQB:ACBFF) (FRA:21P), Cronos Group Inc. (CVE:CRON) (NASDAQ:CRON), and Maricann Group Inc (CNSX:MARI) (OTCMKTS:MRRCF) (FRA:75M) all issued news today that could potentially impact share prices in each of the companies today.

Aurora Cannabis issued two news items today.

The first release addressed what turns out to be an assertion by a writer in the Australian Financial Review that suggested Aurora was preparing to swallow a cannabis licensee in Australia called Cann Group Limited. The article, entitled “Aurora stalks Cann-do company” speculates that Aurora, who is already the largest shareholder of Cann Group, is about to be the target of a formal offer. The article says that Aurora’s “interest is believed to be pegged at about $4.50 a share, which would value Cann Group at about AU$500 million.

Cann Group, who is Australia’s largest licensed producer of Cannabis, was also the first to receive a license for the cultivation and research of cannabis in Australia.

In the second instance, the company said it had partnered with the University of Alberta and a national NGO called Mitacs, to examine the health outcomes of medical cannabis use. The study will be funded by Aurora and Mitacs will last for three years and examine the outcomes, satisfaction with treatment, and side effects of 29,000 patients who have used cannabis as a medical therapy.

Cronos Group Inc release its full year 2017 results today, and the company reported sales of $4.1 million – an underwhelming number that will likely cause some investors to question the company’s current valuation of $1.56 billion making it the 5th largest Canadian-listed cannabis company by market cap with a value of just over $1.56 billion.

Other highlights of Cronos’ financials inlcuded the news that the company had completed upgrades to its pre-existing buildings at its Stayner, Ontario Peace Naturals operation, and was on track to complete its 286,000 square foot “Building 4” featured in the video below.

Watch the latest Cronos Group operations video we made while visiting the company’s principle cannabis production facility in Stayner, Ontario.

“We are building Cronos Group with a focus on the long-term and 2017 set the foundation for the explosive growth we have already started realizing in 2018,” said Mike Gorenstein,” CEO of Cronos Group. “We are extremely proud of all that our team has accomplished and look forward to a year of rapid increases in sales, commencing distribution in new markets, further developing disruptive intellectual property and launching new iconic brands.”

Meanwhile, over in the Maricann camp, CEO Ben Ward announced today that his facility has been approved for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to European Meidicines Agency standards. (EU GMP)

This means Maricann is in a position, along with a very small group of other ACMPR licensees, to produce products and ingredients derived from cannabis for export into the European market.

Currently, most European nations are only permitting CBD imports, except in the case of prescribed medical marijuana (dried flower, etc), though the plethora of companies who would be suppliers to the European Union will need EU GMP certification status before they are able to do so.