We've seen time and again how "takeover targets" provide the opportunity for truly explosive gains. The right company finds the right buyer, and investors gleefully strap in for a virtually instantaneous double- or triple-digit ride.

Dealmaking in general has done some "exploding" of its own over the past few years. 2018 broke records, with some $3.3 trillion worth of dried ink in place by September. That figure was bolstered by the advent of so-called "megadeals" worth more than $5 billion.

Companies have finally figured out the mother of all corporate no-brainers: If you can't beat 'em… buy 'em.

They've realized there's no point in throwing millions (or billions) of your – scratch that, your shareholders' – dollars at a thorny R&D, tech, or PR problem when you can just ride out, find some smaller company that's already done the work, and… acquire, acquire, acquire.

So, when we come across a frenzy of M&A activity in an already rapidly growing, high-profit sector like legal cannabis, it pays to stop and take a good hard look at what's happening.