Village Farms Finalizes Transition to Cannabis-Focused Business
With the privatization of its produce business complete, the company intends to focus on global cannabis operations.
Image | adobe.stock/Jae
Village Farms International Inc. recently announced that the close of the transaction to privatize most of its fresh produce business had occurred on May 30, 2025 (1). The move is intended to position the company as an entirely cannabis-focused business.
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Village Farms,” stated Michael A. DeGiglio, Chief Executive Officer of Village Farms, in a June 2 news release. “For the past eight years we have carefully built our cannabis business based upon our learnings from over 35 years in controlled environment agriculture, and now we are ready to move forward independently from produce. We have established an immensely talented team of cannabis leaders across the organization, and I look forward to watching more of our accomplishments unfold together as we invest more time and resources to become one of the world’s largest and most respected cannabis operators.”
Plans were also announced to file financial information to describe the effect of the transaction for several time periods, including the three-months ending on March 31, 2025.
The press release also stated that Village Farms has extensive experience controlled environmental agriculture and in supplying produce to groceries and retailers in North America. With the new transaction, it has shifted its focus to cannabinoids and international prospects.
Pure Sunfarms in Canada is a subsidiary of Village Farms and has 2.2 million square feet of greenhouse capacity. Village Farms also owns 80% of the cannabis distributor Rose Lifescience, and in the US, the company owns the CBD and hemp-derived brand Balanced Health Botanicals. It’s subsidiary Leli Holland is part of the Dutch Coffee Shop Experiment, being one of the 10 licensees to grow and distribute cannabis for recreational purposes in the specified region. Village Farms also holds a 37.9% equity ownership stake in Vanguard Food LP, a joint venture aiming to acquire produce assets and operations.
The transaction had originally been announced in a May 12 news release (2).
“Village Farms is all in on the future of cannabis globally, and we’re excited to begin this next chapter,” DeGiglio had stated in the news release. “This transaction monetizes one-third of our greenhouse assets, positions our produce business to thrive as an independent private entity, and provides significant expansion potential for us to continue building our leadership position and reputation as one of the largest and most respected scaled cultivators and marketers of cannabis on the planet.”
Earlier this year, the company announced it was expanding its medical cannabis distribution to New Zealand, with the first shipment sent through Pure Sunfarms (3). The company also ships medical cannabis to Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Australia.
References
- Village Farms International. Village Farms International Announces Closing of Transaction to Privatize its Fresh Produce Business https://news.villagefarms.com/news-releases/news-release-details/village-farms-international-announces-closing-transaction (accessed June 10, 2025).
- Village Farms International. Village Farms International Announces Transformative Transaction to Privatize its Fresh Produce Business https://news.villagefarms.com/news-releases/news-release-details/village-farms-international-announces-transformative-transaction (accessed June 10, 2025).
- Colli, M. Village Farms Internation to Expand their Medical Cannabis Distribution to New Zealand https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/village-farms-internation-to-expand-their-medical-cannabis-distribution-to-new-zealand (accessed June 10, 2025).
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