Toronto, ON --
December 19, 2018 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire -- Wayland
Group (CSE:WAYL) (FRANKFURT: 75M) (OTCQB:MRRCF) (“Wayland” or the
“Company”), a global, vertically integrated cultivator and
processor of cannabis, today announced that its Board of Directors
has initiated a process to explore a broad range of strategic
alternatives, including, but not limited to assessing the potential
spin-out and/or European listing of its international assets (the
“International Assets”) in an effort to unlock the value of the
Company’s vast international asset portfolio (a “Spinout
Transaction”), as well as its underlying domestic Canadian assets.
Any Spinout Transaction of the International Assets could include
the Company’s European, Latin American, and Asia-Pacific
operations.
The Company strongly
believes in its current strategy; however, it does not believe its
current share price accurately reflects the global portfolio
Wayland has, and continues to create.
“We have demonstrated our
capability in predicting future markets and working systematically
to put supply chain in place, with some of the lowest transaction
costs for international acquisitions in addition to organic growth
and partnerships. Our exponential growth model has tremendous
potential, as it is built on the solid foundation we have laid from
five years of organizational learning as a licensed producer in
Canada. This has allowed us to become one of five companies with
EU-GMP certification on top of having all the requisite cultivation
and processing licenses in Canada. It is time for us to capitalize
on the largest future cannabis market in the world and focus our
efforts in the wellness and medical markets to accomplish our
vision of enhancing life through cannabis,” stated Ben Ward, CEO of
Wayland.
Canaccord Genuity Corp. has
been retained to serve as the Company’s financial advisor related
to the strategic review process.
There can be no assurance
the strategic review will result in the completion of any
transaction or any other alternative. The Company has not set a
timetable for completion of the review process, and it does not
intend to comment further unless a specific transaction or
alternative is approved by the Board of Directors, the review
process is concluded, or it is otherwise determined that other
disclosure is appropriate.
Paul Pathak, Chairman of
the Board commented, “Our Board is committed to maximizing value
for our shareholders. Our management team has done a terrific job
of building a state of the art cultivation facility in Langton and
securing significant distribution agreements with several of the
Provinces, while at the same time assembling an impressive
portfolio of international assets. Our end goal, however, is
to translate that into value for our shareholders and we are
confident that the results of our strategic review and potential
spin-out of our international assets will be important steps to
accomplish that.”
European
Assets
Germany
Wayland has several active initiatives in Germany that give the
Company a distinct advantage in the German and European markets.
The Company is the only organization in the world that has a
facility ready for domestic cannabis cultivation. Located in
Ebersbach, just outside of Dresden, the proposed facility gives
Wayland 820,000 square feet of clean-room cultivation, processing,
and extraction capabilities. It is currently being utilized to
process industrial hemp from the Company’s adjacent 164-hectare
hemp operation where the Company recently completed their first
harvest yielding over 120,000 kg of dry hemp flowers. Once
processed, the CBD distillate will be used for the Company’s
recently launched nutraceutical business, MariPlant GmbH. Finally,
the Company expects to receive their second EU-GMP certification
for the Ebersbach facility in a matter of weeks, further
strengthening Wayland’s medical production and distribution
capabilities.
Switzerland
Wayland’s second European cultivation site is located in
Regensdorf, Switzerland, a suburb of Zurich. The 60,000 square foot
facility’s current production profile is approximately 2,000 kg of
CBD flower per year. Wayland plans to upgrade this facility to
bring it in line with the Company’s production standards from
existing GACP standards and increase capacity to 14,000 kg per year
with the goal of developing their own CBD products for sale
throughout Switzerland and the rest of the European Union. Wayland
will locate its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)
manufacturing site for its global operations in Switzerland, taking
advantage of existing phyto pharmaceutical talent in
country.
Italy
Wayland has a definitive joint venture agreement with CBD Italian
Factory S.S., a company of Group San Martino for the production of
high quality cannabis products in Italy. The Company expects that
the joint venture will marry the best of both entities with
world-leading technology by Rockwell Automation paired with
existing infrastructure in Piedmont, Italy, which includes
agricultural expertise and biogas electricity. This will allow the
sustainable production of quality CBD and THC products from a
naturally derived fuel source. CBD Italian Factory S.S. and San
Martino Group will bring mass-scale agricultural skills to the
joint venture with a focus on local sustainable practices and
expertise in Biomass Energy production. The Company holds 50.1 % of
the joint venture while 49.9% is held by CBD Italian Factory, with
Massimiliano Umberto Signorini assuming the role of CEO for the new
company.
Malta
In July of 2018, Wayland’s application to Malta Enterprise to set
up a business in Malta to manufacture finished dose medical
cannabis was approved. Malta will offer the Company a unique
advantage as Wayland will have the ability to import, extract,
manufacture finished dose products, and distribute cannabis for
medical purposes within Malta and the entire European Union. Malta
Enterprise allows the Company to develop a wide variety of
pharmaceutical products and export them across the European Union,
and as Malta is a member of the EU, certain VAT tax are
inapplicable to Malta Enterprise.
United Kingdom
The Company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in
U.K. based Theros Pharma Ltd. (“Theros”), an early stage company
that has successfully imported cannabis to the U.K. for patients
with a prescription for medical cannabis. The company expects to be
able to import cannabis to patients in the UK as early as March
2019.
Latin American
and Asia Pacific Assets
Argentina
Wayland has entered into an agreement to purchase 819 hectares of
existing developed agriculture land in San Juan Province in
Argentina, which is the ideal micro climate for cultivation. The
properly has existing mass scale irrigation, using runoff from the
Andes Mountains, and produces 1,000,000 kg of wine juice, and
400,000 kg of olives per year. Existing on site agronomists
and farmers will take their knowledge of horticulture and apply it
to Wayland’s existing world class system of cannabis cultivation.
Outdoor cultivation will take place in existing alfalfa fields, to
supply Wayland with low cost inputs. Initial extraction will
take place in Argentina.
Colombia
The Company has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the
outstanding shares of Colma Pharmaceutical SAS (“Colma”), a
licensed producer of THC cannabis in Colombia, holding four
licenses for cultivation and processing on a leased premise in
Ibaque, Colombia. Wayland plans to cultivate THC cannabis outdoor
and year-round with an infrastructure investment including 415,000
square feet of processing and clone and vegetation greenhouse
facilities to support outdoor cannabis flower production of 125
hectares.
Australia
Wayland has entered into an agreement to acquire 50.1% of Tropicann
Pty Ltd. (“Tropicann”), a privately owned Australian company
located in Darwin, Northern Territory. It plans to build an outdoor
grow facility to take advantage of the ideal cannabis cultivation
climate with minimal environmental impact. The Company believes it
can leverage a major port in Darwin that will provide access to
major APAC markets.
Canadian
Assets
Canadian
Operations
The Company’s flagship facility is located in Langton, Ontario with
cultivation, extraction, formulation, and distribution
capabilities. The facility is a purpose-built cannabis production
facility with an emphasis on automation and energy efficiencies.
The Company partnered with Rockwell Automation to develop a fully
automated system including the development of AI Data Grow, the
Company’s artificially intelligent master grower. This allows
Wayland to drastically reduce its cultivation labour needs by
approximately 90% of the industry average while also mitigating
risks associated with infecting crops. The facility will be
completed in two phases, the first of which is approximately
225,000 square feet in size with 90,000 square feet of production
and office space and approximately 135,000 square feet of grow
space which will yield the Company approximately 65,000 kg of dried
cannabis flower per year. Phase two will bring an additional
719,000 square feet of grow space online taking production capacity
much greater than 100,000 kg per year.
Wayland’s Langton campus
has been certified by the European Medicines Agency after receiving
the certification of EU-Good Manufacturing Practices (“EU-GMP”).
EU-GMP certification allowed Wayland to sign the largest ever
medical cannabis export deal with Cannamedical of Germany, agreeing
to provide the medical cannabis distributor with a minimum of 9,000
kg of product over a three-year period. Wayland is one of only five
cannabis companies in the world to receive the EU-GMP designation
which is another advantage the Company believes it has in the
global medical cannabis arena as demonstrated by this large
purchase order.
Provincial
Agreements
- Manitoba:
Supply agreement with the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries
Corporation (“MBLL”) to make available for purchase by MBLL at
least 550kg of various cannabis products during the first twelve
months of the agreement.
- Alberta:
Supply Agreement with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis
Commission (“AGLC”) to allocate up to 3,375kg of cannabis product
for the Alberta market within the first six
months.
- British
Columbia: Through a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”),
Wayland is a preferred licensed producer to the BC Liquor
Distribution Branch (“BCLDB”) to initially supply approximately
3,622kg of non-medical cannabis to BCLDB over the first 12 months
following legalization.
- Ontario:
Selected by The Ontario Cannabis Store (“OCS”) to supply a variety
of safe, high quality cannabis products through its online store
since launching October 17, 2018.
Brand
Portfolio
The Company has taken a purposeful and consumer-centric approach to
each of its brands/offerings, each validated and optimized with
local consumer research. Strains within each portfolio will match
brand positioning and satisfy target consumer needs and
benefits.
- Solara C:
Designed for the modern, active consumer who is looking to find
solutions to help them live healthier/better without using stronger
pharmaceutical alternatives. This brand will be CBD-only and create
a wide range of products from beverages to topical creams with the
expressed purpose of promoting a healthy, balanced
lifestyle.
- Kiwi:
Designed for light users who are new to the category and looking to
better understand Cannabis and its effects. The brand will exist to
simplify and make the cannabis experience more welcoming and
approachable to the masses.
- Northern
Harvest: Designed for light / medium users who enjoy
Cannabis as part of their active and social lives. The brand will
exist to promote a more natural and balanced approach to Cannabis
with a focus on providing a fun and lighthearted
experience.
- High Tide:
Designed for medium to heavy users who enjoy the cerebral effects
of Cannabis. This brand will produce high quality, high THC
cannabis with the expressed purpose of pushing the limits of the
THC experience.
- Lost at
Seed: Designed for medium to heavy users who want only the
best Cannabis money can buy. This brand will provide highly
desirable and impossible to find strains only available on a
limited assortment basis.
- Rare
Dankness: This partner brand will be for experienced
Cannabis users who are knowledgeable about strains, potencies and
profiles. It will offer a wide selection of premium award-winning
strains that users won’t be able to find anywhere
else.
Maricann Group Inc.,
through its subsidiaries, is operating under the Wayland Group
name. For further details see the press release dated September 24,
2018.
About Wayland
Group
Wayland is a vertically
integrated cultivator and processor of cannabis. The Company was
founded in 2013 and is based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada and
Munich, Germany, with production facilities in Langton, Ontario
where it operates a cannabis cultivation, extraction, formulation,
and distribution business under federal licenses from the
Government of Canada. The Company also has production operations in
Dresden, Saxony, Germany, Regensdorf, Switzerland, Allesandria,
Piedmont, Italy, Ibague, Colombia, London, UK, Australia, and
Argentina. Wayland will continue to pursue new opportunities
globally in its effort to enhance lives through
cannabis.
Forward Looking
Information
This news release
includes forward-looking information and statements, which may
include, but are not limited to, information and statements
regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial
performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations,
estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Such statements include
statements regarding the Company's plans for its operations in all
regions, proposed acquisitions, the Company’s continued global
expansion, its effect on the Company’s global platform and the
Spinout Transaction. Forward-looking information and statements
involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events,
results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from future events, results, performance, and
achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information
and statements herein. Such assumptions, risks, uncertainties and
other factors include, but are not limited to, that the proposed
transactions will be completed on the terms and timelines
anticipated by the Company or at all, the effect that the proposed
transactions, and Spinout Transaction if and when completed, will
have on the Company’s global platform, that all necessary stock
exchange, regulatory and other approvals will be received in
connection with the proposed transactions and or the Spinout
Transaction. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking
information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the
use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties
inherent in such information and statements, there can be no
assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements
will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to
rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and
should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking
information and statements. Any forward-looking information and
statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as
required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and
disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking
information and statements herein or to update the reasons that
actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in
any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a
result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise,
except as required by applicable laws. The Canadian Securities
Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of
this news release.
The Canadian Securities
Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of
this news release
For more information about
Wayland, please visit our website at www.waylandgroup.com
Contact
Information:
Investor Relations
Graham Farrell
VP, Communications
Graham.Farrell@waylandgroup.com
647-643-7665
Media
Inquiries: media@waylandgroup.com
Corporate Headquarters
(Canada)
Wayland Group Corp. (Toronto)
845 Harrington Court, Unit 3
Burlington Ontario L7N 3P3
Canada
289-288-6274
European Headquarters (Germany)
Maricann GmbH
Thierschstrasse 3, 80538 Munchen, Deutschland