/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR
DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES WIRE
SERVICES/
EDMONTON, July 22, 2019 /CNW/ - Fire & Flower Holdings
Corp. ("FFHC") (TSXV: FAF) today announced that its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Fire & Flower Inc. ("Fire &
Flower" or the "Company") has entered into a binding agreement to
acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares (the
"Acquisition") of 102056025 Saskatchewan Ltd. (the "Acquired
Company") from Mera Cannabis Corp., formerly known as Avana Canada
Inc. ( the "Vendor" or "Mera"), immediately following completion of
its development of and receipt of all licences and permits required
to operate a cannabis retail store in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The Acquired Company was selected by the Saskatchewan Liquor and
Gaming Authority ("SLGA") in its 2018 province-wide lottery to
operate a cannabis retail store in Regina. Fire & Flower's store development
team will assist the Acquired Company in designing and building the
store in accordance with regulatory standards and Fire &
Flower's best-in-class retail experience. The Company will pay a
purchase price of $1,500,000 in cash
and issue 2,268,191 common shares of FFHC. The Acquisition is
subject to receipt of all licences and permits required to operate
a cannabis retail store, including approval by the SLGA.
Upon closing of the Acquisition, Fire & Flower and its
affiliate, Open Fields Distribution, have agreed to enter into a
supply agreement with Mera (the "Supply Agreement") pursuant to
which Open Fields Distribution will be the exclusive distributor of
Mera's adult-use cannabis products in the province of Saskatchewan and Fire & Flower will
purchase Mera's adult-use cannabis products for re-sale at its
retail locations, in provinces where this is permitted. The Supply
Agreement will be entered into upon closing of the Acquisition and
will commence once Mera has received the required licensing and
approvals from both Health Canada and the SLGA.
"The Acquisition of the Regina
cannabis retail store licence signifies Fire & Flower's entry
into a major urban market in Saskatchewan and strengthens our position
within the province," shared Trevor
Fencott, Fire & Flower's Chief Executive Officer. "The
exclusive supply agreement with Mera will further enable Fire &
Flower retail stores to maintain consistent, high-quality cannabis
product supply while maintaining higher margins than retailers who
do not have exclusive supply agreements. We look forward to
continuing to build our footprint in communities within the
province of Saskatchewan."
"Fire & Flower has emerged as one of Canada's leading cannabis retail brands and
the company is well suited to bring its data-driven retail
experience to the major urban market of Regina," shared Zubin
Jasavala, Chief Executive Officer of Mera. "Our agreement
with Open Fields Distribution adds significant bench strength to
our adult-use distribution strategy with key retailers in
Canada."
About Fire & Flower
Fire & Flower is a leading
purpose-built, independent adult-use cannabis retailer poised
to capture significant Canadian market share. The Company guides
consumers through the complex world of cannabis through
education-focused, best-in-class retailing while the Hifyre digital
platform connects consumers with cannabis products. The Company's
leadership team combines extensive experience in the cannabis
industry with strong capabilities in retail operations.
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. owns all issued and outstanding
shares in Fire & Flower Inc., a licensed cannabis retailer in
the provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan and is a consultant
and licensor to Fire & Flower-branded retail locations in the
province of Ontario.
About Mera Cannabis Corp.
Mera is focused on producing consumer-driven, high-value
cannabis products at its EU GMP-built cultivation and processing
facility in St Thomas, Ontario. It has two additional facilities
currently under Health Canada licensing review in St.
Thomas (processing) and Kingsville, Ontario (up
to 1.2M sq. ft. of greenhouse cultivation), where the
Company's efforts are focused on medical cannabis product
innovation. Additionally, Mera's family of cannabis brands and
businesses include CannaWay Clinic, a national network of
clinics specializing in cannabis treatment programs,
and Garden Variety, a chain of cannabis retail stores
in Manitoba operated through a joint-venture
partnership. Mera has also signed a letter of intent with the
Maltese economic development agency, Malta Enterprise, to initiate
the development of a medical cannabis production facility
in Malta as a primary entry point into European medical
cannabis markets. For more information about Mera, please visit
meracannabis.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
This news release contains certain
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All
statements other than statements of present or historical fact are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often,
but not always, identified by the use of words such as
"anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend",
"objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook",
"expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof,
suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions
"may" or "will" occur. These statements are only
predictions. Forward-looking statements in this news
release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the
closing of the Acquisition, the entering into of the Supply
Agreement and the receipt of certain licensing and approvals from
both Health Canada and the SLGA.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and
estimates of management of the Company at the date the statements
are made based on information then available to the Company.
Various factors and assumptions are applied in drawing conclusions
or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to and
involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many
of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause the
Company's actual performance and results to differ materially from
any projections of future performance or results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Applicable risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, regulatory risks,
changes in laws, market risks, concentration risks, operating
history, competition and the other risks identified under the
headings "Risk Factors" in the Company's Filing Statement dated
February 6, 2019 and "Risks and
Uncertainties" in the Company's management discussion and analysis
for the thirteen weeks ended May 4,
2019, each as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Investors
are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. No assurance can be given that the
expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove to
be correct.
The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or
revise forward-looking statements to reflect 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 policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
SOURCE Fire & Flower Holdings Corp.
