Canadian icons come together: Canopy Growth and Drake launch new cannabis wellness company
TORONTO and LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – Canopy Growth Corporation (“Canopy Growth” or the “Company”) (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) and Aubrey Drake Graham (“Drake”) are pleased to announce that they have entered into agreements to launch the More Life Growth CompanyTM, a fully licensed producer of cannabis based in Drake’s hometown of Toronto, Canada.
When we first began talks with Drake we were extremely inspired by and aligned with his vision to bring best-in-class cannabis products to the world.
Mark Zekulin, CEO, Canopy Growth Corporation
Drake’s perspective as a culture leader and entrepreneur combined with Canopy Growth’s breadth of cannabis knowledge will allow our new company to bring an unmatched cannabis experience to global markets.
Drake’s eclectic career includes experience across a wide variety of industries including music, television, film, fashion, sports, brand development, content curation and social and digital media strategy. Having launched numerous successful brands over the past decade, he is uniquely positioned to bring his innovative eye to the recreational cannabis industry.
“The opportunity to partner with a world-class company like Canopy Growth on a global scale is really exciting,” shared More Life Growth Company founder, Drake. “The idea of being able to build something special in an industry that is ever growing has been inspiring. More Life and More Blessing.”
Proudly based in Drake’s hometown of Toronto, More LifeTM is centred around wellness, discovery and overall personal growth with the hope of facilitating connections and shared experiences across the globe.
“All in all, we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Drake to bring his vision for the More Life Growth Company to global cannabis markets,” concluded Mr. Zekulin. “We anticipate a long, successful, and mutually beneficial working relationship.”
The Company and Drake will share further details on the More LifeTM team and vision in the weeks to come.
Transaction Details
In connection with the launch of the More Life brand, a previously wholly-owned subsidiary (the “More Life Growth Company”) of Canopy Growth, has issued shares to certain entities that are controlled by Drake (“Drake”). Following the issuance of the shares, Drake holds a 60% ownership interest in the More Life Growth Company, with Canopy Growth retaining a 40% ownership.
The More Life Growth Company is the beneficial owner of an entity licensed by Health Canada for the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis at its production facility in Scarborough, Ontario (the “More Life Facility”). Canopy Growth will continue to provide all of the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the More Life Facility and will retain all of the rights to distribute the product that is cultivated at the More Life Facility.
As consideration for the issuance of the shares of the More Life Growth Company, Drake has granted More Life Growth Company the right to exclusively exploit certain intellectual property and brands in association with the growth, manufacture, production, marketing and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products, accessories, merchandise and paraphernalia in Canada and internationally. The maintenance of the non-Canada rights after 18 months is contingent upon certain performance criteria of the More Life Growth Company being met. The More Life Growth Company has sublicensed such rights in Canada to Canopy Growth in exchange for payments to be made by the Company on the sale of More LifeTM products, providing Canopy Growth with the exclusive rights to distribute More LifeTM products in Canada. In addition, Canopy Growth has the option to extend the terms and conditions of the sublicense into all international jurisdictions.
Canopy Growth and Drake have entered into a shareholders agreement, investor rights agreements, and various other ancillary agreements to govern the operations of the More Life Growth Company. In connection with these arrangements, Canopy Growth has the right to nominate two directors to the board of the More Life Growth Company as well as a pre-emptive right to maintain its ownership interest in the More Life Growth Company.
Advisors
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP acted as legal counsel to Canopy Growth and Reed Smith LLP acted as legal counsel to Drake in connection with the transaction.
Here’s to Future (More Life) Growth.
About Canopy Growth Corporation
Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED,NYSE:CGC) is a world-leading diversified cannabis, hemp and cannabis device company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms, as well as medical devices through Canopy Growth’s subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. Canopy Growth has operations in over a dozen countries across five continents.
Canopy Growth’s medical division, Spectrum Therapeutics is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public’s understanding of cannabis, and has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Spectrum Therapeutics sells a range of full-spectrum products using its colour-coded classification Spectrum system as well as single cannabinoid Dronabinol under the brand Bionorica Ethics.
Canopy Growth operates retail stores across Canada under its award-winning Tweed and Tokyo Smoke banners. Tweed is a globally recognized cannabis brand which has built a large and loyal following by focusing on quality products and meaningful customer relationships.
From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icons Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House Seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates eleven licensed cannabis production sites with over 10.5 million square feet of production capacity, including over one million square feet of GMP certified production space. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com
