Will the current M&A phase in European cannabis continue? A review of recent investment and acquisition activities with Tristan Gervais, Founder and Managing Director of T Capital, and an outlook on what to expect next.
Disclaimer: This article is part of a media partnership. Our readers get 10% discount for Cannabis Europa in London with the code: CE10_KRAUTINVEST. Tristan Gervais will moderate the panel „All Eyes on Germany: The Path to Profitable Growth and Consolidation?“ on May 26th with Niklas Kouparanis (Bloomwell), David Henn (Cannamedical) and Franziska Katterbach (Oppenhoff).
krautinvest.de: After several M&A transactions and investment activities in the German cannabis market, will the current wave of capital markets activity continue?
Tristan Gervais: This is an early-stage renaissance that will continue, particularly on the M&A front. US Rescheduling will have a positive impact on the profitability of MSOs, leading to lower debt costs, balance sheet deleveraging and equity re-rating. These will lead to increased appetite for cross-border M&A. The €250m transaction of Sanity by Organigram was a highly institutional deal; BAT invested CAD$ 65.2 Million of equity and prefs. and ATB Financial led the CAD$ 60 Million credit facility. This reflected the increasing maturity and scale of the German cannabis industry. The 12.5x Enterprise Value/Ebitda 2026 earn out has raised expectations amongst German operators, also following the 3.5 2025A Enterprise Value/Ebitda multiple in High Tide’s acquisition of Remexian Pharma, albeit different assets.
Capital raised in Germany since declassification has been quite limited, so far, despite substantial revenue and EBITDA growth. Cash remains King in a capital constrained sector.
krautinvest.de: Beyond Germany, we have seen one major acquisition in the Netherlands. Are other European cannabis markets not yet mature enough?
Tristan Gervais: M&A in the UK and Portugal has reflected growing maturity. The Polish market has also seen M&A, reflecting its increasing patients. The UK market is growing rapidly, without any deregulation, thanks to strong technology use and increased patient adoption. UK head-quartered Emmac Life Sciences sold to Curaleaf for US$286m in 2021, with a relatively limited German presence. More recently Tilray Brands acquired Lyphe Group in the UK and Grow Group bought Avida Medical in the UK in 2025.
M&A in Portugal has reflected its strength in cultivation and processing. Curaleaf acquired Clever Leaves‘ EU GMP processing facility in Portugal in 2023. Somaí Pharmaceuticals acquired RPK Biopharma (Holigen), a Portuguese EU GMP cultivation and processing facility, in 2024.
Curaleaf has continued its European consolidation path, acquiring a Polish medical cannabis wholesaler in 2024 and Fitokan, a medical cannabis clinic in Poland in 2025.
krautinvest.de: A core question concerns valuation: Will scalable, tech-based cannabis business models be able to command higher multiples?
Tristan Gervais: Yes, depending on sophistication and integration of technology, the depth of technology infrastructure and adherence to law. Whilst telemedicine is now widespread in Germany, I expect the largest, most compliant operators with fully-integrated business models to command premium multiples.
Germany’s Fremdbesitzverbot restricts pharmacy ownership to licensed pharmacists and limits individuals to four locations. Scaling pharmacies through technological innovation is therefore critical in Germany medical cannabis.
krautinvest.de: Which type of companies are attractive for buyers?
Tristan Gervais: This will depend on the acquirer, though strong market share, deep infrastructure and B2C strength are key. From a financial perspective, high growth and healthy EBITDA margins will be unifying factors. Free-Cash-Flow margins vary substantially, and given capital remains highly constrained for the sector globally, acquiring a strongly self-financing company will be a major asset. Canadian LPs will look to acquire market share and maximise revenue synergies from exports. With US Rescheduling opening potential US exports, multi-state-operators may soon also be able to execute this strategy. Many acquirers are focussed on being closest to the patient as B2C has been the engine of growth since declassification. Wholesale margins have compressed substantially, reinforcing the need to acquire or develop brands.
krautinvest.de: What does the current phase of consolidation mean for the many smaller wholesalers in Germany and their existing assets?
Tristan Gervais: The arrival of international operators has further increased pressure on wholesaler’s pricing and margins. Margin compression and working capital pressure will lead to consolidation through vertical integration with cultivators, shown by the Canify-MG Health transaction. SME wholesalers may merge to increase scale and buying power whilst others will pursue other sectors or cease to operate. Larger wholesalers, particularly those benefiting from (cheaper) working capital financing, will buy larger amounts of very high-THC from fewer, higher quality EU GMP cultivators to extract better commercial terms, further pressuring smaller wholesalers.
Disclaimer: This article is part of a media partnership. Our readers get 10% discount for Cannabis Europa in London with the code: CE10_KRAUTINVEST. Tristan will moderate the panel „All Eyes on Germany: What Next for Europe’s Biggest Market?“ on May 26th with Niklas Kouparanis (Bloomwell), David Henn (Cannamedical) and Franziska Katterbach (Oppenhoff).