Divestiture marks a key step in the
Company's strategy to become a leading, pure play CPG company,
headlined by the Sprout brand
LAVAL,
QC, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Neptune
Wellness Solutions Inc. ("Neptune" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:
NEPT), a diversified and fully integrated health and wellness
company, announced today that is has entered into a binding
agreement to divest its cannabis business which includes the
cannabis plant in Sherbrooke,
Québec, the Mood Ring and PanHash brands, and related assets (the
"Transaction").
The Company has reached an agreement with PurCann Pharma Inc.
("PurCann Pharma"), a subsidiary of Groupe SiliCycle, a
Quebec based company
with over 27 years of experience with extracting and purifying
active ingredients from natural biomass, to purchase Neptune's
cannabis assets for C$5.15 million to be paid in cash.
Neptune intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of these
assets to for working capital and other general corporate
purposes.
As part of the Transaction, the Company has received an opinion
from its financial advisor, Stifel GMP, that the consideration to
be received by the Company as part of the Transaction is fair, from
a financial point of view. The Transaction is expected to close on
or before November 15, 2022, upon
completion of standard closing requirements.
Ray Silcock, Chief Financial
Officer of Neptune, said, "The complete divestiture of our cannabis
business is a critical milestone in executing upon our strategy to
become a leading CPG company. We are nearing an inflection point
with our flagship brand Sprout Organics and expect it to serve as
the key growth driver for Neptune going forward. In addition, the
divestment of the cannabis assets will allow us to realize
significant cost savings and operational streamlining from
redirected resources towards our simplified corporate
structure."
PurCann Pharma is already present in the Canadian cannabis
market with its therapeutic brand OOVIE and its recreational
cannabis brand OLLOPA. Hugo
St-Laurent president of PurCann Pharma is delighted: "With
this transaction, PurCann Pharma consolidates its position in the
cannabis market and is also aligned with our mission to provide
pharmaceutical grade ingredients and cannabinoids to the life
science market."
Neptune has retained Stifel GMP as its sole financial advisor
and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
LLP as legal counsel in connection with the Transaction.
About Neptune Wellness Solutions
Inc.
Headquartered in Laval, Québec, Neptune is a diversified
health and wellness company with a mission to redefine health and
wellness. Neptune is focused on building a portfolio of high
quality, affordable consumer products in response to long-term
secular trends and market demand for natural, plant-based,
sustainable and purpose-driven lifestyle brands. The Company
utilizes a highly flexible, cost-efficient manufacturing and supply
chain infrastructure that can be scaled to quickly adapt to
consumer demand and bring new products to market through its mass
retail partners and e-commerce channels. For additional
information, please visit: https://neptunewellness.com/.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements in this news release that are not statements of
historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other unknown factors that could cause the
actual results of Neptune to be materially different from
historical results or from any future results expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which
explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged
to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes", "belief",
"expects", "intends", "projects", "anticipates", "will", "should"
or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking
statements relate to future events or future performance and
reflect management's expectations or beliefs regarding future
events including, but not limited to, statements with respect to :
the timing and outcome of the Transaction; the anticipated benefits
of the Transaction to the parties; impact of the Transaction on the
Company. In respect of the forward-looking statements and
information concerning the anticipated benefits and completion of
the Transaction and the anticipated timing for completion of the
Transaction, the Company has provided such statements and
information in reliance on certain assumptions that it believes are
reasonable at this time. Although the Company believes that the
assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking
information or forward-looking statements in this news release are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information
and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the
disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking statements and
information included in this news release are made as of the date
of this news release and the Company does not undertake an
obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or
forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent
events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities
laws.
There can be no assurance that the Transaction will occur, or
that it will occur on the terms and conditions contemplated in this
news release. The Transaction could be modified, restructured or
terminated. Actual results could differ materially from those
currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. The
Transaction cannot close until the required regulatory approval is
obtained.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
news release. The forward-looking statements contained in this news
release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement and the "Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Information" section contained in Neptune's latest
Annual Information Form, which also forms part of Neptune's latest
annual report on Form 40-F, and which is available on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
All forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of
the date of this news release. Neptune does not undertake to update
any such forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
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SOURCE Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc.