It appears that British American Tobacco, or BAT, is still focused on maintaining its stake in Organigram Holdings (TSX: OGI). The firm last night announced it was exercising certain top-up rights it has as a part of its 2021 investment agreement in the firm to slightly increase its stake.

The top-up has seen the tobacco firm invest a further $6.3 million into the cannabis company, enabling it to push its current ownership from 18.8% to 19.5%. The ownership increase saw a total of 2.7 million shares of the issuer sold at a price of $2.3868, effectively a significant 24.9% premium to the current price of the equity. The premium is due to the top-up rights outlining that the “top-up” is to be consistent with the price per share at which the related issuances were made that enabled the rights to come into effect.

The eligibility for the top-up follows Organigram acquiring Laurentian Organic in the fourth quarter, resulting in the issuance of 10.9 million shares.

While the top-up indicates that BAT remains interested in the company, it is notable that the firm increased its ownership just to 19.5%. Under the original arrangement last year, the company took an initial 19.9% stake in Organigram, paying $221 million at $3.792 per share to do so.

Organigram Holdings last traded at $1.91 on the TSX.

Information for this briefing was found via Sedar and Organigram Holdings. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.