这家市值最大的大麻上市公司为何把创始人赶下台？

加拿大的大麻公司Canopy Growth Corp.在上周三表示，该公司的创始人布鲁斯·林顿将不再担任联席CEO一职。

Canopy公司成立于2013年，在林顿的领导下，该公司已经凭借140亿美元的市值成为公开市场上规模最大的大麻公司。Canopy公司在新闻通稿中称，林顿将辞去联席CEO和董事会成员的职务，但并未给出原因。记者无法联系上Canopy公司以请其进一步置评。不过林顿却表示，该公司给出的说法并非事实。

林顿对CNBC表示：“我认为‘辞职’一词并非正确的表述，我是被赶走的。”

他的职务将由现任总裁兼联席CEO马克·泽库林顶替，同时该公司也将寻找新的领导人。

林顿在一份声明中称：“经董事会今天决定，并经我的同意，我的任期结束了。”他承认这种转变并不容易，不过他对“Canopy的团队有充分的信心。”

林顿被迫离职，或许是因为受到了Canopy的最大股东、烈酒生产商星座公司（Constellation Brands）的压力。2018年，星座公司向Canopy投资了40亿美元（占38%的股权）。

Cowen公司的分析师薇薇恩·阿泽尔在上周三的一封致投资者的文章中指出：“星座公司曾经公开表示对Canopy公司的近期收益感到失望，而且他们还在Canopy公司安插了一个自己人当财务总监，所以出现这种变化，我们是不奇怪的。”阿泽尔还表示，林顿的工作是“值得称赞”的，但“新领导层将是一个令人欢迎的变化”。

林顿对CNBC表示，作为投资协议的一部分，星座公司提名四人进入了Canopy的董事会，然后只过了“大约8个月零2天”，他就被董事会赶走了。星座公司在一份声明中对彭博社表示，该公司完全支持“Canopy公司有关林顿的决定”。

星座公司对Canopy的不满已经酝酿了一阵子了。Canopy上月发布了第四季度财报，结果令人失望，作为大股东的星座公司亏损了将近3900万美元。星座公司也表示对Canopy的亏损感到“不满”。目前Canopy的亏损累计已达3.234亿加元。

晨星公司的分析师克里斯托弗·英顿则表示，此次Canopy的领导层变动令人感到惊讶。

英顿对《财富》杂志表示：“我并不同意华尔街大多数人对Canopy公司四季度财报的反应。对于这样一家增长中的公司，又是这样一个增长中的行业，如此苛求它的短期效益，特别是盈利能力，实在有些出人意料。这就好像一家公司创业才一年，你就质问它：‘你为什么还没有盈利？’”

英顿表示，大麻行业还有很大的增长空间，在当前阶段，“高质量增长可能比盈利重要得多。”

星座公司的财务总监大卫·克莱恩在电话中对分析师表示，他对投资Canopy公司感到“非常高兴”，并表示，星座公司对Canopy收购美国大麻运营商Acreage Holdings公司持积极态度。

华尔街的态度貌似也很乐观。

英顿表示：“这是一笔很有创新性的交易。”因为如果美国在联邦层面立了法，或者放松了限制，那么股东们在美国也有了赚钱的机会。到时Canopy公司的竞争对手们“将不得不争相购买资产……所以它的这一步很超前。”

Canopy公司表示，泽库林将帮助公司寻找新的联席CEO。泽库林则在一份声明中称：“我个人将继续致力于在接下来的一年里实现成功过渡，在这个过程中，我们将确立新的领导层，以推动我们的共同愿景向前发展。”

在晨星公司的分析师英顿看来，对于Canopy公司来说，当务之急很可能是要找一个“执行力更强的人，而不是一个领导重大战略变革的人”。 Cowen公司的分析师阿泽尔也认为，此次转型应该不会是“破坏性的”。

不过受林顿离职的消息影响，上周三，Canopy的股票早盘下跌了5%，之后略有回升，当日回升2%以上。英顿认为，林顿的离职短期内并不会给Canopy的股价造成太大冲击。他表示，Canopy应该会将重点放在加拿大市场，并向国际医药领域扩张，还有可能与星座公司一起开发酒水饮料。

在林顿的领导下，Canopy也实现过不少创新，它签下了不少合作伙伴，甚至与玛莎·斯图尔特和史诺普·道格等名人都有合作。

现在林顿虽然下岗了，但在华尔街看来，没有了他，Canopy以后的路却只会更宽。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

Bruce Linton, who founded Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp., stepped down as co-CEO, the company said last Wednesday.

Founded in 2013, Canopy has grown into the largest cannabis company on the public market (with a value of $14 billion) under Linton’s leadership. Canopy said in a press release that Linton stepped down from his roles as co-CEO and board member, without giving a reason. Canopy couldn’t be reached for further comment. However, Linton said the statement is inaccurate.

“I think stepping down might not be the right phrase,” Linton told CNBC. “I was terminated.”

He’ll be replaced by current president and co-CEO Mark Zekulin while the company searches for a new leader.

“The board decided today, and I agreed, my turn is over,” Linton said in a statement. While he acknowledged the change wasn’t easy, he said he has “full confidence in the team at Canopy.”

Linton’s seemingly involuntary departure may be due in part to pressure from Canopy’s largest shareholder, spirits maker Constellation Brands. Constellation made a $4 billion investment (a 38% stake) in the company in 2018.

“With [Constellation Brands] ... having vocally expressed their ‘disappointment’ with [Canopy’s] most recently reported earnings, and having already installed [a Constellation] alum as CFO, we are not surprised by this move,” Cowen analyst Vivien Azer wrote in a note to investors last Wednesday. Azer wrote that Linton should be “commend[ed]” for his work at the company, but “new leadership will be a welcome change.”

Constellation nominated four directors to Canopy’s board as part of the investment deal, and “about eight months and two days later,” Linton told CNBC, the board moved to remove him. The beverage company “fully support[s]” Canopy’s decision regarding Linton, Constellation told Bloomberg in a statement.

Constellation’s qualms with the cannabis giant have been budding for a while—Canopy reported disappointing losses last month in the fourth quarter, setting Constellation back almost $39 million. Constellation said it was “not pleased” with the losses, which amounted to some CA$323.4 million, according to Canopy’s earnings.

Morningstar analyst Kristoffer Inton said the leadership change was surprising.

“I didn’t necessarily agree with the reaction that most of the Street had on the fourth quarter,” Inton told Fortune. “This is a growth company in a growth industry. To measure the near-term results, especially in profitability, that harshly is a bit surprising. It’s like looking at a startup in its first year and asking, why is it not profitable?”

Inton said the cannabis industry has more room to grow, and that, at this stage, “top-line growth is probably way more important right now than profitability.”

Constellation’s Chief Financial Officer David Klein told analysts on a call that he was “very happy” with the company’s investments, and that the beverage maker was positive on Canopy's deal to acquire U.S.-based cannabis operator Acreage Holdings.

Wall Street seems equally optimistic.

“This is a pretty innovative deal,” Inton said, because shareholders have U.S. exposure “if and when U.S. federal legalization happens or is relaxed,” Inton said. Canopy’s peers “are going to have to scramble and start trying to buy assets … so it’s a pretty forward move by Canopy,” he said.

Zekulin will help with the search for a new co-CEO, the company said. Zekulin said in a statement that “I personally remain committed to a successful transition over the coming year as we begin a process to identify new leadership that will drive our collective vision forward.”

For Morningstar’s Inton, the leadership change will likely be more about finding someone who will “execute better rather than someone who has big strategic change,” he says. Cowen’s Azer wrote that the transition won’t prove “disruptive.”

Still, Canopy’s stock was pushed down some 5% early at the news, but has since recovered, up over 2% in intraday trading on last Wednesday. The news shouldn’t rattle Canopy’s stock too much in the near-term, Inton believes. He said the company will likely focus on the Canadian market, expanding in the international medicinal sector and developing beverages alongside Constellation.

Linton helped the company innovate with partnerships and even celebrities like Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg.

Now, Linton’s time is up. But for Wall Street, Canopy can only get higher.