The maker of Marlboro cigarettes, Altria Group, shelled out $1.8 billion for a 55-percent stake in the Canadian cannabis producer, Cronos.

That's a 16-percent premium to the stock's Thursday close on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

New York-listed Cronos shares shot up more than twenty percent on the news.

Altria gained as well.

Ryan Smith runs wholesale cannabis marketplace, LeafLink: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAFLINK'S CO-FOUNDER AND CEO RYAN SMITH, SAYING: "The times are absolutely changing.

Deals like this really mean and show that institutional capital are making placements in the cannabis industry, and it's further confirmation of what everyone in the industry knows, this is happening, it's going mainstream, there's a really bright future for our space." Sources told Reuters last month, Altria is also in talks to take a minority stake in e-cigarette maker, Juul Labs.

It's betting on that and the Cronos deal to help it boost its revenue.

Federal data from November showed traditional cigarette smoking among U.S. adults reached its lowest level ever in 2017.