TORONTO, March 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North Bud Farms Inc. (CSE: NBUD) (OTCQB: NOBDF) ("NORTHBUD" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its U.S. subsidiary, Bonfire Brands USA Inc., has signed a letter of intent (the “LOI”) for a master lease and operations agreement with an experienced California-licensed operator (the “Cultivator”) to operate the cultivation facilities at the Company’s Salinas, California farm.
Terms of the LOI
As per the terms of the LOI, the companies will work together towards completing a definitive agreement before May 1, 2020, in which the Cultivator will lease the Company’s cultivation facilities at its Salinas farm for 5 years, with options to extend the lease for up to an additional 5 years, and Bonfire Brands USA will receive the following consideration:
- Lease payments starting at approximately USD$1 million per year in year 1, with incremental increases that could bring the annual rent to as high as USD$1.8 million per year;
- A royalty equal to 3% of the gross revenue generated by the Cultivator from its use of the Salinas farm; and
- The right to acquire up to 15% of all the product harvested by the Cultivator on the farm at a discount to market rate with extended payment terms.
During the term of the proposed agreement, the Cultivator will be responsible for 100% of the costs associated with staffing, operations, licensing and compliance with respect to the farm’s cultivation facilities; moreover, the Cultivator is committed to fund and manage the build-out of an additional 230,000 sq. ft. of licensed cultivation space over the first 24 months of the proposed agreement.
“Our objective when we acquired the Salinas farm was to secure access to the high-quality, low-cost cannabis that has always been grown in that area, known as “the salad bowl of America,” said Justin Braune, President of Bonfire Brands USA. “This proposed agreement will allow the Company to immediately achieve EBITDA-positive operations at our largest facility without incurring the significant capital investments that have debilitated many companies in our industry. By retaining preferential purchasing terms, the Company can focus on its branded product distribution business on the back of the estimated 40,000 pounds of production capacity that the Cultivator will bring online over the next 24 months.”
Sean Homuth, NORTHBUD’s CEO added: “Partnering with a proven licensed cultivator who has been operating in Salinas for multiple years achieves the following objectives: it significantly de-risks our California operations while allowing the Company to increase its asset value; it reduces our capital expenditure requirements while still generating significant revenue; and it builds EBITDA-positive operations without limiting our access to a cost-efficient and reliable supply chain on which to build our branded product portfolio within the state of California.”
About North Bud Farms Inc.
NORTHBUD, through its U.S. subsidiary Bonfire Brands USA, has acquired cannabis production facilities in California and Nevada. The Salinas, California 11-acre farm is actively cultivating cannabis in its 60,000 sq. ft. of licensed greenhouse production space, and also has active distribution and processing licenses. The Reno, Nevada property contains a world-class cannabis production, research and development facility with 5,000 sq. ft. of indoor cultivation, and holds medical and adult-use licenses for cultivation, extraction and distribution. Through its wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, GrowPros MMP Inc., the Company is pursuing a license under The Cannabis Act, to cultivate in its state-of-the-art purpose-built cannabis production facility located on 135 acres of agricultural land in Low, Quebec, Canada.
For more information visit: www.northbud.com
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Forward-looking statements
Certain statements and information included in this press release that, to the extent they are not historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements, include but are not limited to those identified by the expressions “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “should” and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management.
Forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, those regarding the closing of the definitive agreement with the Cultivator, the success of the Company’s licence application with Health Canada, the Company’s ability to execute its strategic plan, conditions in the cannabis market, the Company entering agreements in connection with the B2B supply of cannabis and the Company’s transition into a revenue-generating operational phase of development are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk factors included in the Company’s final long form prospectus dated August 21, 2018, which is available under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company's management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect information, events, results, circumstances or otherwise after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law including securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of the Company.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
North Bud Farms Inc.
Edward Miller
VP, IR & Communications
Office: (855) 628-3420 ext. 3
investors@northbud.com