Victor Neufeld

Vic Neufeld Chief Executive Officer

Canadian cannabis producer Aphria on Friday said that CEO Vic Neufeld will exit in the coming months, a decision management insisted had nothing to do with allegations of self-dealing by two short-sellers last month. Aphria stock and other marijuana stocks jumped, especially Tilray. Tilray soared after Privateer Holdings, which controls the company, indicated that the supply of Tilray stock will remain limited, in turn driving the price higher.

Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld

Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld plans to resign while co-chairman and co-founder Cole Cacciavillani also will step away from his executive role. But both will remain on the company's board. During a conference call to discuss Aphria earnings for the fiscal second quarter, management said no committee was established yet to oversee the transition. Both Neufeld and Irwin Simon, who replaced Neufeld as chairman last month, said the transition had "nothing" to do with the allegations from the short-sellers, Hindenburg Research and Quintessential Capital, or a subsequent review by a special committee. "It was a matter of, it was time," Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld said during the call.

In a statement released earlier in the day, Neufeld said: "Building and leading a Company like Aphria, which exploded from an idea in late 2013 to our many successes to-date, has been an incredible journey, despite the toll it has taken on health, family and personal priorities." Cacciavillan echoed that sentiment. "Endless meetings, travel, deadlines, talent search – the list of executive responsibilities will only continue to grow," he said in the statement.

Aphria Short Seller Drama

Short sellers Quintessential Capital and Hindenburg Research last month accused Aphria of overpaying for largely worthless properties in Latin America and the Caribbean an effort to surreptitiously enrich insiders. The short-sellers alleged that Aphria's purchases were orchestrated through shell companies to cover its tracks. Aphria stock crashed after the report's publications. The short-sellers said the assets purchased included a farm in Jamaica and a dispensary that they couldn't find. Aphria called the allegations "false and defamatory" and said the companies were either licensed or operational.

The company commissioned the special committee to review the transactions. Vic Neufeld Apria vowed a line-by-line rebuttal to the allegations. But the company delayed it pending the committee's review. It was unclear when that review might conclude. When asked on Friday to clarify whether the public could expect that review to end within days, weeks or months, Neufeld said, "It's not days, but it will take a bit longer than that."