Westleaf and Xabis finalize agreement for
exclusive Canadian engagement
CALGARY, June 4, 2019 /CNW/ - Westleaf Inc. (the
"Company" or "Westleaf") (TSX-V:WL) (OTCQB:WSLFF), is
pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Westleaf Labs LP, has
entered into a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of Xabis Inc.
("Xabis"), whereunder Xabis will provide technical
expertise to the Company's Calgary-based extraction, processing and
manufacturing facility ("The Plant"), which is on
schedule to complete construction this month. The agreement will
provide Westleaf with exclusive access to Xabis's extraction,
processing, manufacturing and product development expertise in the
Canadian market.
"This partnership is another part of the execution on Westleaf's
strategy of becoming a significant vertically integrated player in
the Canadian cannabis industry," said Scott
Hurd, President and CEO of Westleaf. "We believe a
diversified offering of derivative cannabis products will account
for a major shift in consumer demand once legal. We are positioning
to formulate unique, high quality cannabis derivative products and
have partnered with an industry leader to complement our expertise
in building and running these types of facilities. We are also
excited to start offering contract manufacturing services to third
parties."
Highlights
- Tapping into Industry Leading Expertise – Xabis is
an industry leader in design, construction and management of
cannabis extraction and manufacturing facilities, as well as
product development. Xabis has worked in nine US states and has
developed more than 200 cannabis derivative product SKUs.
- Focus on Derivative Products – Once fully complete,
the Plant will be capable of producing the full suite of new
derivative product lines in preparation of Health Canada's
legalization of derivative and consumable products (cannabis oils,
gel capsules, vape cartridges, edibles, topicals and other
products) expected to occur later this year.
- Scalability – The Plant is an approximately
60,000 square foot complex with Phase I (~15,000 sq. ft.) to
include R&D, processing, extraction, manufacturing and order
fulfillment. Phase I construction is on schedule for completion
this month. The Plant has an additional 45,000 square feet
available for expansion.
- Multiple Revenue Streams – The Plant is designed
to produce a diversified offering of cannabis derivative products
under Westleaf's brand portfolio. Additionally, Westleaf plans to
offer white labeling services to produce finished products for
third parties and contract manufacturing services for raw extract
and distillation.
- Developing Products for the Global Market – The
Plant is being built to EU GMP specifications to ensure
compliance for export capabilities. Strategically located in
Calgary, the facility is not only
in the largest retail market in the prairies, but also has easy
access to transportation services to the rest of Canada and to global markets.
Xabis is a Colorado-based
cannabis processing company which provides turnkey operations for
companies in the mid-stream of the cannabis industry. With more
than 75 years of collective experience, Xabis's team of PhDs and
scientists manage the most technically difficult processes in the
cannabis life-cycle, all aspects of the extraction and
manufacturing of cannabis infused products.
"We are entirely focused on the plant-to-product portion of the
value chain," explains Dale Zink,
CEO of Xabis. "From the end of the grow to the final processed
product shipping out to the retail store or dispensary, we apply
our expertise to help companies create profitable processes and
systems." Zink leads a group of PhDs with extensive experience in
biotechnology and chemical engineering, including experience in the
extraction industry, the pharmaceutical industry and academia.
The move by Xabis into the Canadian market under an exclusive
relationship with Westleaf is the company's first foray into the
largest single federally legalized recreational market. Xabis has
designed, built, and operated facilities in nine U.S. states where
medical or recreational cannabis has been
legalized.
As partial consideration for services provided to Westleaf,
Xabis will be entitled to earn equity-based compensation of up to
$1,000,000 worth of common shares of
Westleaf ("Common Shares"), payable in three tranches over a
three year period. The pricing of the Westleaf common shares to be
issued under each tranche will be determined by dividing the
equivalent dollar amount of the Common Shares to be received by
Xabis under the applicable tranche by the five day volume weighted
average trading price of the Common Shares determined on the
trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Common
Shares are to be issued.
New Investor Presentation
Westleaf is also pleased to announce that it has posted a new
investor presentation on its website. The investor presentation can
be found at
https://www.westleaf.com/financials-presentations/
About XABIS
Xabis brings scientific discipline, sound business principles,
and professionalism to the cannabis industry by delivering turnkey
processing operations for the commercial scale transformation of
cannabis from plant to product. Xabis is led by seasoned business
professionals and scientific experts, including some of the
industry's leading chemical and biological PhDs and engineers. For
more information, please visit www.Xabisinc.com
About Westleaf Inc.
Westleaf is a vertically integrated cannabis company focused on
innovative retail experiences and engaging cannabis brands as well
as cultivation, production and extraction of cannabis products.
Westleaf is rolling out a national retail footprint for its retail
concept Prairie Records, with stores planned for
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and potentially Manitoba and Ontario. The retail concept leverages the
instinctual tie between recreational cannabis and music and
redefines the cannabis purchasing experience. The Company also has
two significant production facilities under construction and
scheduled for completion in 2019. For more information, please
visit www.westleaf.com or www.prairierecords.ca.
Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that
term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility
for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
Cautionary Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and
"forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking
statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian
securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on
expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news
release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to
predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives,
assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always
using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is
expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans",
"budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or
"intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that
certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would",
"might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not
statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking
statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate
to, among other things, (i) the location of retail cannabis stores
that Westleaf plans to open; (ii) the construction of Westleaf's
production facilities and the timing for completion of same; (iii)
products to be produced from Westleaf's production facilities and
the products and services that Westleaf plans to offer; (iv) timing
of provincial and federal regulatory approvals; (v) timing of
legalization of certain derivative cannabis products; and (vi) the
issuance of Common Shares to Xabis as consideration for services
provided to Wesleaf by Xabis and the timing thereof.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of
estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other
factors which may cause the actual results and future events to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are
not limited to: risks relating to the ability to obtain or maintain
licences to retail cannabis products; review of Westleaf's
production facilities by Health Canada and receipt of licences from
Health Canada in respect thereof; future legislative and regulatory
developments involving cannabis, including the passing of
regulations regarding derivative cannabis products; inability to
access sufficient capital from internal and external sources,
and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms;
the labour market generally and the ability to access, hire and
retain employees; general business, economic, competitive,
political and social uncertainties; the satisfaction of conditions
precedent under Westleaf's credit facilities; timing and completion
of construction of Westleaf's production facilities and retail
locations; and the delay or failure to receive board, ATB Financial
or regulatory approvals, including any approvals of the TSX Venture
Exchange, as applicable. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
the forward-looking statements and information contained in this
news release. Except as required by law, Westleaf assume no
obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs,
opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except
as required by law.
SOURCE Westleaf Inc.