The ‘transformational’ deal will add prized cultivation, manufacturing and distribution assets to accelerate Akanda’s seed-to-patient model and satisfy demand in the fast-growing European cannabis markets.
International medical cannabis company Akanda Corp has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Holigen Limited from The Flowr Corporation. The proposed acquisition will accelerate Akanda’s seed-to-patient business model in the EMEA region, improving the company’s ability to meet growing demand for medical cannabis as regulations evolve.
Akanda says the acquisition provides the company with both the capacity and route-to-market for delivering first-party and third-party EU GMP certified medical cannabis to legal EU markets through a vertically integrated model.
Holigen’s wholly-owned subsidiary RPK Biopharma Unipessoal consists of a 20,000 square foot indoor EU GMP certified grow facility located near Lisbon dedicated to the cultivation of high-THC premium cannabis as well as a large seven million square foot outdoor facility located two hours south in Aljustrel.
Combined, Akanda believes these facilities will provide the flexibility of capacity in Portugal to produce two tonnes of first-party premium indoor cannabis, over 100 tonnes of first-party outdoor cannabis, and over eight tonnes of third-party manufacturing capacity each year.
“Holigen is a transformative building block in our mission to help people lead better lives through improved access to high quality and affordable cannabis products,” said Tej Virk, Chief Executive Officer of Akanda. “Together with Holigen, we will become the clear leader in current and emerging markets in Europe for both medical and eventually adult use customers. Portugal is one of the EU’s leading jurisdictions to conduct cannabis business with a forward-looking government, in addition to a responsive regulator.
“The government has been actively discussing the advancement of legalization of adult-use cannabis and Akanda is dedicated to our presence in the country as the landscape continues to evolve. This acquisition materially accelerates our strategy and financials, and positions us to create significant, sustainable value.”
Holigen’s purpose-built indoor grow facility is the only one of its kind that can produce EU GMP medical cannabis equivalent to the recreational grades available in North America. Akanda will also benefit from the genetics library available from Flowr, including its award-winning BC Pink Kush, BC Black Cherry and BC Strawnana as well as certain new exotic genetics that will be exported to Portugal from Canada.
“We are leveraging our recent Initial Public Offering to secure state-of-the-art GMP-certified facilities that have been the recipient of nearly US$16 million of investment over the past several years,” Virk added. “There are also powerful strategic synergies with our first-party/third-party operating model and assets in Africa and the UK, including the immediate opportunity to supply the growing number of European patients that are seeking access to these high-quality cultivars.”
