CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SugarBud Craft Growers Corp. (trading as Relentless
Resources Ltd.) (“SugarBud” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a
commitment letter with Farm Credit Canada (“FCC”) for a credit facility in the amount of $17.65 million (the
“Facility”) to fund an aeroponic cannabis cultivation facility at Stavely, Alberta (the
“Project”) and is in advanced negotiations with another Canadian financial institution for a revolving working
capital credit facility in the amount of $2.0 million (the “Revolver”) and syndication of the Facility.
Credit Facilities
FCC is a self-sustaining federal Crown corporation that reports to Parliament through the Minister of
Agriculture and Agri-Food. FCC has over 1,800 employees, 100 offices across rural Canada and a $33 billion loan portfolio.
The Facility will be transformational to SugarBud and its ability to execute on its business plan. Under the
commitment letter, FCC has agreed to provide the senior secured Facility on the following principal terms:
Facility Tranche |
Amount ($ CAD) |
Amortization (Years) |
Interest Rate |
Purpose |
1 |
$ |
11,650,000 |
10 |
Option of either: (i) variable
interest rate linked to Prime Rate Open; or (ii) Closed Fixed rate ranging from 1 year to 10 years at current market rates |
Stavely, Alberta Phase 1 Cannabis
Cultivation Facility |
2 |
$ |
6,000,000 |
10 |
Option of either: (i) variable
interest rate linked to Prime Rate Open; or (ii) Closed Fixed rate ranging from 1 year to 10 years at current market rates |
Construction Cost Overruns (if
Applicable), Contingencies and/or Future Capital Projects |
The Facility and advances thereunder will be conditional upon, among other things, syndication of the Facility
with another Canadian financial institution (who will lead the syndicate and fund approximately $8.0 million of the Facility), and
SugarBud receiving requisite Health Canada licenses.
In addition to the above, SugarBud is in advanced negotiations with a Canadian financial institution for the
Revolver in the amount of $2.0 million and syndication of the Facility.
The Facility and Revolver will be used to fund an aeroponic cannabis cultivation facility at Stavely, Alberta,
which is currently under construction. Key specifications of the Project are as follows:
Phase (#) |
Layers of Flowering Canopy (#) |
Flowering Canopy (Square Feet) |
Estimated Capital Cost (Millions) |
Estimated Annual Dried Cannabis Flower Production (Kgs) |
1 |
3 |
~34,000 |
~$14.0 |
~8,000 |
2 |
3 |
~51,000 |
~$17.2 |
~12,000 |
Total |
N/A |
~85,000 |
~$31.2 |
~20,000 |
Including the Facility and the Revolver, SugarBud will have access to $19.65 million of credit facilities in
addition to its current working capital of approximately $3.5 million and the proceeds from its previously announced rights
offering which, if fully subscribed, will result in proceeds of $7.4 million. SugarBud is also pursuing equipment financing and
other sources of non-dilutive capital with respect to certain components of the Project.
Mr. Craig Kolochuk, SugarBud’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Our ability to attract world
class capital partners such as Farm Credit Canada speaks to our unique hybrid oil and gas and cannabis business model and the
strength of our team. Looking back over the past five months, SugarBud has selected a top team, entered into an amalgamation
agreement with a late stage ACMPR applicant, developed a high impact business plan (which includes the development of an innovative
multi-layered aeroponic cannabis cultivation facility at Stavely Alberta) and achieved a path to retail distribution through its
strategic alliance with Inner Spirit Holdings Ltd. We have now reduced our cost of capital to a level competitive with much larger
cannabis peers and funded a large-scale, state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation facility. We are now focused on managing the
construction of the Project to ensure that we come on-time and on-budget, obtaining our cultivation license from Health Canada and
securing additional retail distribution agreements.”
About SugarBud Craft Growers Corp.
SugarBud is a Calgary based emerging cannabis and oil and natural gas company engaged in the development,
acquisition and production of cannabis and natural gas and crude oil reserves in Alberta.
For further information regarding this news release, please contact:
Craig Kolochuk
President & Chief Executive Officer
SugarBud Craft Growers Corp.
Phone: (403) 875-5665
E-mail: craigk@sugarbud.ca
|
Jeff Swainson
Chief Financial Officer
SugarBud Craft Growers Corp.
Phone: (403) 796-3640
E-mail: jeffs@sugarbud.ca |
Investor Relations Contact
Gary Perkins, President
Tekkfund Capital Corp.
Tel: (416) 882-0020
E-mail: garyperkins@rogers.com
Website: http://www.sugarbud.ca/
Address: Suite 620, 634 ‐ 6TH Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 0S4
Telephone: 403‐532‐4466
Fax: 587‐955‐9668
Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements
This news release may include forward-looking statements including opinions, assumptions, estimates, the Company’s assessment of
future plans and operations, and, more particularly, statements concerning the Facility, a definitive loan agreement in respect
thereto and the terms thereof, including interest rates, the Revolver, the availability of future borrowings, the Rights Offering
and potential proceeds therefrom and the Project. When used in this document, the words “will,” “anticipate,” “believe,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “intent,” “may,” “project,” “should,” and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that
identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made
by the Company which include, but are not limited to, the timing of the receipt of the required regulatory and third party
approvals. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although the Company believes
that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such
expectations will be realized. Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: regulatory and third party approvals, including receipt of cultivation
and sales licenses from Health Canada and TSX-V approval of the Company’s change of business, not being obtained in the manner or
timing anticipated; the ability to implement corporate strategies; the state of domestic capital markets; the ability to obtain
financing; changes in general market conditions; industry conditions and events; the size of the medical marijuana market and the
recreational marijuana market; government regulations, including future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical
and recreational marijuana; construction delays; competition from other industry participants; and other factors more fully
described from time to time in the reports and filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities. Please refer to
SugarBud’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2017 (the “AIF”) for additional risk factors relating to the
Company. The AIF can be accessed under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com.
Except as required by applicable laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements.
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