VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (d/b/a Wheaton Income) (TSX.V:CBW) ("Wheaton Income" or "Wheaton" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent (the “Agreement”) with FV Pharma Inc. ("FV Pharma" or "FV"), a licensed producer pursuant to the ACMPR having received its cultivation license on October 13, 2017. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will develop all aspects of FV's cannabis cultivation facility in mutually agreed staged phases (the “Facility Development”), creating the largest indoor cannabis cultivation and processing facility in the world (collectively, the “Transaction”).
The FV Pharma state-of-the-art facility (the “Facility”), hosts an existing 620,000 square feet of building space and is famously known as the former KRAFT® food manufacturing facility. The Facility is ideally situated only one hour east of Toronto in Cobourg, Ontario, off of the 401 highway and has access by car or rail to Ottawa and Montreal.
The Facility rests on 70 acres of land, 32 of which have been utilized for the current building with the remaining 40 acres available for the staged-phased Facility Development. Upon completion of the Facility Development, FV expects to achieve a total of approximately 3,800,000 square feet dedicated to cannabis cultivation and related ancillary businesses all under one roof making it the largest indoor cannabis cultivation facility in the world. The Facility has an electrical substation on site, natural gas lines, multiple water intakes, rail lines directly into the Facility and 26 loading docks thereby providing the robust infrastructure necessary to accommodate FV Pharma's expansion plans.
Wheaton and FV plan to utilize the Facility to supply Canada’s current medical and future recreational market for cannabis with a vision to offer mass quantities of dried cannabis, cannabis oils and, when legally permitted, food-grade cannabis edibles all subject to FV Pharma receiving the necessary licenses.
Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company will receive a 49.9% stream of all cannabis (or cannabis-derived products including any immature cannabis plants and any cannabis trim) produced at the Facility, under partnership with Wheaton, in perpetuity (the “Wheaton Allocation”). The Company estimates that the Wheaton Allocation will result in approximately 200,000,000 grams of cannabis for the Company’s benefit per annum upon completion of all phases of the Facility Development. In exchange for the Wheaton Allocation, using its unique expertise and experience the Company’s management team will assist FV Pharma with all aspects of the design, development, financing, build-out and operations of the Facility as well as the marketing, branding and distribution of the cannabis and cannabis-derived products generated by the Facility.
As part of the arrangement, the Company will also participate in the governance of FV Pharma by having one Company nominee appointed to the board of directors of FV Pharma.
Chuck Rifici, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wheaton Income, stated “This marks a very exciting moment for Cannabis Wheaton. The joint venture with FV Pharma provides us access to the one of the most unique and the largest indoor cannabis facilities on the planet. The KRAFT facility project is highly reminiscent of my early days at Tweed (now Canopy Growth) where I had the privilege of converting that company's first major production asset, the old Hershey factory in Smiths Falls, Ontario into something new and exciting. This is the same scenario but on a much larger scale and in perhaps the most ideal location in Canada, in close proximity to the largest addressable market in the country.
When completed, this massive facility will not only create a tremendous amount of supply for the recreational Canadian market, but it will also create hundreds of jobs for the City of Coburg similar to what we accomplished in Smiths Falls. We are thrilled to be working alongside the FV Pharma team and can’t wait to get started on creating value and growth through best industry practices at a scale that will truly redefine the definition of world-class in this sector.”
“We are delighted to partner with Cannabis Wheaton to develop our cultivation operations in our world class facility,” said Thomas Fairfull, President and CEO of FV Pharma. “There are very few people in the industry that have the experience to convert a large-scale food grade facility into a cannabis cultivation facility. Chuck Rifici, Brad McNamee and some members of their team were part of Tweed’s (now Canopy Growth) repurposing of the former Hershey facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario and that is the closest comparison we could find for us which led to the beginning of this partnership.”
The Transaction remains subject to certain conditions precedent including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals including Health Canada approval and the execution of a definitive agreement which the parties expect to occur within 45 days.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Chuck Rifici" Chairman & CEO
About Wheaton Income. (TSX.V:CBW)
Wheaton Income is a collective of entrepreneurs with a passion for the cannabis industry past, present and future. Our mandate is to facilitate growth for our partners by providing them with financial support and sharing our collective industry experience. Our partners all have different visions, voices and brand values, and all share a common goal—to build a world-class industry based on ethics, diversity, quality and innovation.
Stay Connected:
For more information about Cannabis Wheaton and our management team, please visit: http://www.wheatonincome.com or follow us on Twitter @WheatonIncome. Call: 1.604.687.7130 Email: Mario@skanderbegcapital.com (http://www.skanderbegcapital.com).
Media Contact:
Sarah Bain, VP External Affairs
Email: sarah@cannabiswheaton.com
Phone: 613.230.5869
About FV Pharma
FV Pharma’s management mission is to make the former Kraft plant in Cobourg, Ontario the largest hydroponic cannabis indoor facility in the world. FV Pharma intends to target all aspects of the cannabis industry including cultivation, processing, manufacturing, R&D, concentrates, beverages and edibles when and only when it is legal to do so. The facility is only a one hour drive east of Toronto on the 401 highway. FV Pharma has an ACMPR License from Health Canada. FV Pharma is currently a private company.
Stay Connected:
For further information about FV Pharam Inc. and our management team, please visit: http://www.fvpharma.com or contact Thomas Fairfull ((905) 686-7079 or thomas@fvpharma.com) or Anthony Durkacz ((416) 720-4360 or anthony@firstrepubliccapital.com).
Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements:
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. This information is only a prediction. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking information throughout this news release. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to: the ability to consummate the Transaction, including the ability to negotiate a definitive agreement on terms satisfactory to the Company, expectations of future growing capacity at the Facility and the related costs, the completion of the planned build-out and expansions, requirements to obtain additional financing for such build-out and expansions, the ability to satisfy the conditions associated with the Facility’s cultivation license, the ability to obtain a sales authorization for the license and the related timing considerations, the Company’s ability to generate revenue through the Agreement, timeliness of government approvals for granting of permits and licenses, actual operating performance of the Facility, regulatory or political change, competition and other risks affecting the Company in particular and the cannabis industry generally. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Neither the Company nor FV Pharma is under any obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward -looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.