** Shares of Little Green Pharma LGP.AX rise as much as 16.7% to A$0.14, their highest level since December 23

** Medical cannabis company heading for best day since December 17, if gains hold

** Co to acquire Australian medicinal cannabis products manufacturer and distributor Cannatrek

** Under deal, each Cannatrek shareholder will get 1.835806 new LGP shares and 0.727502 new contingent value shares for every Cannatrek share

** Existing LGP shareholders will hold ~39.5% and Cannatrek shareholders will hold~60.5% of in LGP at completion of merger

** About 1.1 mln shares change hand, 4.7x their 30-day average, in their busiest day since December 15

** Stock largely unchanged in 2025; up 8% so far this year

(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru)

((John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com;))