TSX | NYSE: ACB
EDMONTON, March 7, 2019 /CNW/ - Aurora Cannabis Inc.
("Aurora" or "the Company") (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) today provided an
update on its strategic investment in Choom Holdings Inc. ("Choom")
(CSE: CHOO), an emerging consumer cannabis company that has secured
one of the largest retail networks in Canada. Since Aurora
completed its $27 million investments
in the Choom private placement on June 18,
2018, and the convertible debenture offering on November 5, 2018, Choom has successfully achieved
a number of its strategic growth initiatives.
- June 19, 2018 – Secured 10
additional cannabis retail opportunities in Alberta and British
Columbia
- August 23, 2018 – Secured 12
additional cannabis retail opportunities in Alberta and British
Columbia
- September 24, 2018 – Choom was
added to Canadian Securities Exchange's CSE25 Index
- September 25, 2018 – Choom was
included to the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF
- December 10, 2018 – Choom
completed the acquisition of Clarity Cannabis Medical Centres,
which included five new medical centres and a proprietary
telemedicine platform
- February 13, 2019 – Choom entered
into a LOI with Ontario Cannabis Retail Store Applicant
- February 19, 2019 - Choom
completed the buildout of a customized e-commerce channel through a
licensed enterprise-level platform. The platform ensures
flexibility to handle both B2C and B2B sales to service and sell to
any type of buyer in the cannabis industry
- February 27, 2019 - Choom entered
into a definitive agreement to acquire Clarity Cannabis Retail
Stores in Alberta, adding 30
retail locations in Alberta, 3 of
which have been licensed by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor &
Cannabis Commission ("AGLC")
Choom has completed the buildouts of 17 retail locations across
Western Canada and has 8
additional retail locations currently under construction. In all
cases, these retail opportunities are subject to all the necessary
provincial regulatory approvals.
Management Commentary
"Choom has demonstrated a strong commitment to rapidly executing
its strategic growth plans by developing a sophisticated retail
channel across Western Canada
while diversifying their operations through further expansion into
Ontario," said Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora. "Through our
strategic investment, we have helped to expedite Choom's commercial
launch while gaining valuable insights into the consumer decision
making process which has helped to shape our product allocation and
in-store marketing initiatives. I'd like to congratulate Choom on
their success to date and look forward to the upcoming projects
that the team continues to work on as they roll out their unique
retail brand experience across Canada."
"We're only just getting started and our unique, elevated retail
environments are now being established across the country," said
Chris Bogart, CEO of Choom. "With
the strong support provided by Aurora, we've accelerated our growth
initiatives, resulting in the rapid development of our retail
footprint across Canada. We are
excited to have the opportunity participate in one of the largest
new consumer markets in decades and we look forward to inheriting a
portion of the estimated $4B+ of cannabis demand in the
country."
About Aurora
Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada with funded capacity in excess of 500,000 kg per
annum and sales and operations in 24 countries across five
continents, Aurora is one of the world's largest and leading
cannabis companies. Aurora is vertically integrated and
horizontally diversified across every key segment of the value
chain, from facility engineering and design to cannabis breeding
and genetics research, cannabis and hemp production, derivatives,
high value-add product development, home cultivation, wholesale and
retail distribution.
Highly differentiated from its peers, Aurora has established a
uniquely advanced, consistent and efficient production strategy,
based on purpose-built facilities that integrate leading-edge
technologies across all processes, defined by extensive automation
and customization, resulting in the massive scale production of
high quality product at low cost. Intended to be replicable and
scalable globally, our production facilities are designed to
produce cannabis of significant scale, with high quality,
industry-leading yields, and low per gram production costs. Each of
Aurora's facilities is built to meet EU GMP standards, and its
first production facility, the recently acquired MedReleaf Markham
facility, and its wholly owned European medical cannabis
distributor Aurora Deutschland have achieved this level of
certification.
In addition to the Company's rapid organic growth and strong
execution on strategic M&A, which to date includes 16 wholly
owned subsidiary companies – MedReleaf, CanvasRX, Peloton
Pharmaceutical, Aurora Deutschland, H2 Biopharma, Urban Cultivator,
BC Northern Lights, Larssen Greenhouses, CanniMed Therapeutics,
Anandia Labs, HotHouse Consulting, MED Colombia, Agropro, Borela,
ICC Labs and Whistler – Aurora is distinguished by its reputation
as a partner and employer of choice in the global cannabis sector,
having invested in and established strategic partnerships with a
range of leading innovators, including: Radient Technologies Inc.
(TSXV: RTI), Hempco Food and Fiber Inc. (TSXV: HEMP), Cann Group
Ltd. (ASX: CAN), Micron Waste Technologies Inc. (CSE: MWM), Choom
Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO), Capcium Inc. (private), Evio Beauty
Group (private), Wagner Dimas (private), CTT Pharmaceuticals (OTCC:
CTTH), Alcanna Inc. (TSX: CLIQ) and High Tide Inc. (CSE:HITI).
Aurora's Common Shares trade on the TSX and NYSE under the
symbol "ACB", and are a constituent of the S&P/TSX Composite
Index.
For more information about Aurora, please visit our investor
website, investor.auroramj.com
Neither the TSX, NYSE nor their Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX and NYSE)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Terry Booth,
CEO
Aurora Cannabis
Inc.
About Choom
Choom™ is an emerging adult use cannabis company whose mission
is to establish one of the largest retail networks in Canada. The Choom brand is inspired by
Hawaii's "Choom Gang"—a group of
buddies in Honolulu during the
1970's who loved to smoke weed—or as the locals called it, "Choom".
Evoking the spirit of the original Choom
Gang, our brand caters to the Canadian adult use market with
the ethos of 'cultivating good times'. Choom™ is focused on
delivering an elevated customer experience through our curated
retail environments, offering a diversity of brands for Canadians
across a national retail network.
For more information about Choom, please visit www.choom.ca
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes statements containing certain
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking
statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan",
"continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate",
"estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other
similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions
"may" or "will" occur and include, but are not limited to Choom
developing a network of retail stores which will feature a curated
selection of products from various licensed producers; accelerating
Choom's sophisticated retail channel expansion in the Canadian
consumer market; establishing Choom as a dominant national cannabis
retail brand; becoming one of best positioned and largest retailers
in the country; Aurora's continued confidence and investment in
Choom; expediting expansion and the roll out of store openings; and
future potential opportunities in the Ontario market. These statements are only
predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the
conclusions or making the projections contained in the
forward-looking statements throughout this news release.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates
of management at the date the statements are made, and are 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 statements. The Company is
under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or
obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as expressly required by applicable law.
SOURCE Aurora Cannabis Inc.