Canadian cannabis producer Sundial Growers Inc. said it will buy liquor and pot retailer Alcanna Inc. for C$346 million ($276 million) in stock, building on a vertical-integration strategy of acquiring stores. 

Sundial, which is based in Calgary and listed on Nasdaq, will pay C$9.12 per Alcanna share, the companies said Thursday evening. 

Alcanna runs a network of 171 alcohol shops, mostly in the oil-rich province of Alberta, under the name Liquor Depot and two other brands. It spun off a cannabis retail chain into a separate company, Nova Cannabis Inc., in which it still owns a 63% stake. 

“Alcanna’s value-focused model in liquor retailing has created market stability and we believe that the replication of this playbook in cannabis has strong potential to drive a similar result,” Sundial Chief Executive Officer Zach George said in a statement. 

Alcanna shareholders would own about 16% of the merged company. “Having reviewed various strategic alternatives for Alcanna over the past 18 months, I am confident that the transaction with Sundial offers the best alternative for Alcanna,” James Burns, the retailer’s CEO, said in a statement.