WeedMD Enters Into $39 Million Debt Facility with BMO and Acquires 98-acre Licensed Strathroy Property
Tier 1 bank financing to drive production expansion and growth
TORONTO, April 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) (FSE:4WE) (“WeedMD” or the “Company”), a federally-licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a credit facility with Bank of Montreal (“BMO”). Under the terms of the credit facility, BMO will provide WeedMD up to $39 million of secured debt financing at a rate of interest that is expected to average in the low-to-high 5% per annum range over a three-year term.
The facility consists of a $33.1 million term loan, a $3.0 million equipment term loan and a $3.0 million revolving credit facility (collectively, the “Loans”), all of which mature in 2022. WeedMD may, at its discretion, repay the balance of the Loans without penalty at any time during the term.
Concurrently, WeedMD has exercised its option to purchase the Health Canada-licensed, 98-acre Strathroy property (“Strathroy”) from Perfect Pick Farms (“Perfect Pick”). The Strathroy purchase includes the licensed 610,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art hybrid-greenhouse, more than 100,000 sq. ft. of ancillary structures and all other infrastructure and equipment as well the 50 acres of land upon which the Company intends to cultivate outdoor cannabis. Link to outdoor cultivation release here.
Securing BMO’s support at this exciting juncture in WeedMD’s growth provides market validation in our ability to continue to execute our strategic plan with non-dilutive financing. In 2018, it took us just six months to retrofit, license and bring the first phase of our state-of-the-art greenhouse online. Less than three months later, we took down our first harvests with very compelling yields and quality.
Keith Merker, CEO of WeedMD
We’ve since continued to expand our licensed footprint and operations across the greenhouse and have recently announced our plans for outdoor cannabis cultivation onsite, which we expect to double our production potential with a low-cost scalable expansion.
The interest rate for the Loans is a set margin over the Canadian dollar prime rate or a bankers’ acceptance of appropriate term. Based on the current Canadian dollar prime rate, the interest payable is expected to be in the low to high 5% per annum range over the term of the Loans. The credit facility is secured by the Company and its subsidiaries, including WeedMD’s production facilities in Strathroy, Ontario and Aylmer, Ontario, and contains customary financial and restrictive covenants. Additional details on the credit facility can be found in the Company’s documents which are available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
WeedMD has acquired a 100% interest in the Strathroy property from Perfect Pick for the balance due under its option agreement of $22.6 million, of which $17.6 million was paid in cash and $5 million was satisfied by the issuance of 2.5 million units (“Units”) in the capital of WeedMD.
Each Unit was comprised of one WeedMD common share at a price of $2.00 and one-quarter (1/4) of a warrant (for 625,000 total warrants), with each whole warrant exercisable into a WeedMD common share at an exercise price of $2.50 per share for five years.
For more information, access WeedMD’s investor presentation here and recently updated corporate video here.
About WeedMD Inc.
WeedMD Inc. is the publicly-traded parent company of WeedMD Rx Inc., a federally-licensed producer and distributor of cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates two facilities: a 26,000 sq. ft. indoor facility in Aylmer, Ontario and a state-of-the-art greenhouse and outdoor facility located in Strathroy, Ontario. The Company currently has 136,000 square feet of licensed production space and is expected to have a total footprint of more than 550,000 square feet of indoor and greenhouse production in addition to more than 25 acres of outdoor cultivation space online in the first half of 2019. WeedMD has a multi-channeled distribution strategy that includes selling directly to medical patients, strategic relationships across the seniors’ market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart as well as six provincial distribution agencies.
