Hogan Lovells advises British American Tobacco Group on investment in Sanity Group

Hogan Lovells advises British American Tobacco Group on investment in Sanity Group

Press releases | 05 October 2022

A Hogan Lovells team led by Munich Partner Nikolas Zirngibl, has advised British American Tobacco Group (BAT). BAT, via one of its wholly owned group companies, has acquired a non-controlling minority stake in one of Germany’s leading cannabis companies, Sanity Group.

This investment is complementary to other recent investments made by BAT or BAT companies, most notably the strategic R&D collaboration established with Canada’s Organigram Holdings Inc. announced in March last year. The stake in Sanity Group adds a European dimension to one of the many BAT explorations beyond nicotine.

Sanity Group, which is based in Berlin, has a well-established product portfolio of CBD consumer brands and medical cannabis brands. It also has a proven track record in the research, development and marketing of cannabis products.

Hogan Lovells team for BAT

Dr Nikolas Zirngibl (Partner), Andreas Thun (Counsel), Martin Schunke (Senior Associate), Johannes Adam (Associate) (all Corporate, Munich);

Dr Christiane Alpers (Partner), Annika Ullmann (Senior Associate) (Strategic Operations, Agreements and Regulation, Hamburg);

Dr Jörg Schickert (Partner), Dr Tina Welter-Birk (Senior Associate) (Strategic Operations, Agreements and Regulation, Munich);

Dr Martin Pflüger (Partner), Sebastian Eisenberger (Associate) (both Intellectual Property, Munich);

Dr Justus Frank (Senior Associate, Labour Law, Düsseldorf).