Rodney Cocks, the CEO of the company to be the ASX’s newest pot stock, says he wants to deliver shareholder returns sooner rather than later.

Cronos Australia (ASX:CAU) will list on the ASX tomorrow after raising $20 million in its IPO. It will enter Australia’s medicinal cannabis market with THC and CBD products at the ready, as well as import and export licences.

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because it is — Cronos Aus is a 50-50 joint venture between $4.5 billion NASDAQ and Toronto Stock Exchange-listed cannabis company Cronos Group and NewSouthern Capital, a private equity firm controlled by Cocks and fellow Cronos Aus director (and chief operating officer) Peter Righetti.

And Cocks says the business is aiming to hit the ground running.

“We will not be investing shareholder funds in capital-intensive processes like cultivation, manufacturing, drug development and so on,” he tells Stockhead.

“We will be partnering with broader tier one players for our needs, and be focused on delivering shareholder value through our branded product strategy.”

Cocks says this will give Cronos Aus “differentiation” from other ASX pot stocks, many of which are focused on the cultivation, manufacture or development of cannabis products for various uses.

“We think this is the right strategic choice, and the market has responded well. It allows us to be agile in a dynamic industry and gives us a focus on the higher value parts of the value chain.”

Cronos Aus will import and sell Cronos Group’s medicinal cannabis brand Peace Naturals as it works on its own unique brands for Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. 

It describes its way of doing things as an “asset light” business model, under which it outsources the manufacturing and distribution of its own brand of medicinal cannabis products. 

Two Cronos Group directors, including its CEO Michael Gorenstein, will also sit on Cronos Aus’ board.