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https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/3-retirement-mistakes-killing-portfolio-185449409.html
Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd (TSX:TGOD) is a perfect example of a high-risk stock that offers tremendous upside. The company is worth just $550 million, but if shares traded in-line with industry multiples, there could be 100% upside or more. Don’t bet the farm on these stocks, but most retirement portfolios should have exposure to their explosive potential.
Patience is key
2 Cannabis Stocks That Could Land a Game-Changing Partner in 2020
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/2-cannabis-stocks-could-land-150006344.html
10/8 NexTech Partners With Google On Its New 3D Ad Platform
NEW YORK and TORONTO, Oct. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NexTech AR Solutions (the “Company” or “NexTech”) (NEXCF) (NTAR.CN) (N29.F) is pleased to announce that it has built ad creatives that have passed Google's 3D validation tool and is now working with Google to launch a series of 3D ads for its clients. NexTech is directing its proprietary 3D asset creation technology, previously used for WebAR clients, to create content for Google’s new 3D ad platform positioning both companies to be at the forefront of the emerging 3D-AR market. Over the next 30 days the company will be working directly with Google to launch its first 3D “Swirl ads” ads.
As explained by Google:
"Swirl brings three-dimensional assets to display advertising on the mobile web, which can help educate consumers before making a purchase. They can directly zoom in and out, rotate a product, or play an animation."
"We are excited to be working directly with Google on their new 3D ads platform which is the first step in bringing fully immersive AR ads to market expected to launch in 2020. Companies are looking for ways to rapidly transform 2D assets to 3D assets for advertising, eCommerce and training. With our state of the art 3D capture capabilities, NexTech is the first AR company to offer the industry's first end-to-end solution for advertisers and brands from the creation of 3D assets, online 3D display ads, WebAR 3D product views, 3D shopping experiences, and ultimately leading to the purchasing of goods all in a frictionless and seamless 3D virtual environment. Our 3D-AR solutions work incredibly well with all major platforms and add tremendous value providing rich product experience to online shoppers who are craving more and more when making online purchasing decisions," said Evan Gappelberg, CEO of NexTech.
Available through Google's Display and Video 360 formats, “Swirl ads” will enable brands which have existing 3D assets to build them into their ad units. In this instance NexTech will be building the 3D assets to meet Google's 3D display process which involves; creating the 3D asset, coming up with a creative, publishing in DV360 and then monitoring the campaign metrics.
The 3D models can then be spun, enlarged, and interacted with directly by the consumer within the ad itself. Split-testing by Sketchfab-branded 3D ads versus traditional static ads bears out just how dramatically engagement can improve, showing a 633% increase in sign-up conversions and a 376% increase in click-through rates.
Brands and retailers can implement NexTech's 3D AR ads through a few simple lines of Web AR embed codes, providing the versatility to create interactive ads that are compatible with all major ad networks, including Google Ad Network and Doubleclick (DFP). Brands can publish 3D ads, which are cross-browser and cross-device capable, from the same assets utilized to create Web AR images with no additional work required, other than building the ad itself.
eMarketer forecasted last year that digital ads will account for 50% of total eCommerce ad spending by 2020, at more than $357 billion. NexTech, through its continued push for innovation, is well-positioned to grow alongside the largest ad platforms in the world.
NexTech's 3D ads enable consumers to experience products for themselves while shopping online, from any angle and with rich, true rendering. Providing consumers the ability to fully review an item for size, shape, color and fit before purchasing online can ultimately lead to greater revenues and reduced returns for online retailers.
NexTech now offers innovative and engaging 3D AR advertising experiences, positioning the Company to quickly penetrate the rapidly growing 3D ads market.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nextech-partners-google-3d-ad-113000729.html
It's almost like the team wants the media narrative to be that TGOD is overvalued?
Anyone know when/if the ontario store restocked TGOD and the products sold or is Ontario still awaiting the order?
10/8 NexTech Partners With Google On Its New 3D Ad Platform
NEW YORK and TORONTO, Oct. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NexTech AR Solutions (the “Company” or “NexTech”) (NEXCF) (NTAR.CN) (N29.F) is pleased to announce that it has built ad creatives that have passed Google's 3D validation tool and is now working with Google to launch a series of 3D ads for its clients. NexTech is directing its proprietary 3D asset creation technology, previously used for WebAR clients, to create content for Google’s new 3D ad platform positioning both companies to be at the forefront of the emerging 3D-AR market. Over the next 30 days the company will be working directly with Google to launch its first 3D “Swirl ads” ads.
As explained by Google:
"Swirl brings three-dimensional assets to display advertising on the mobile web, which can help educate consumers before making a purchase. They can directly zoom in and out, rotate a product, or play an animation."
"We are excited to be working directly with Google on their new 3D ads platform which is the first step in bringing fully immersive AR ads to market expected to launch in 2020. Companies are looking for ways to rapidly transform 2D assets to 3D assets for advertising, eCommerce and training. With our state of the art 3D capture capabilities, NexTech is the first AR company to offer the industry's first end-to-end solution for advertisers and brands from the creation of 3D assets, online 3D display ads, WebAR 3D product views, 3D shopping experiences, and ultimately leading to the purchasing of goods all in a frictionless and seamless 3D virtual environment. Our 3D-AR solutions work incredibly well with all major platforms and add tremendous value providing rich product experience to online shoppers who are craving more and more when making online purchasing decisions," said Evan Gappelberg, CEO of NexTech.
Available through Google's Display and Video 360 formats, “Swirl ads” will enable brands which have existing 3D assets to build them into their ad units. In this instance NexTech will be building the 3D assets to meet Google's 3D display process which involves; creating the 3D asset, coming up with a creative, publishing in DV360 and then monitoring the campaign metrics.
The 3D models can then be spun, enlarged, and interacted with directly by the consumer within the ad itself. Split-testing by Sketchfab-branded 3D ads versus traditional static ads bears out just how dramatically engagement can improve, showing a 633% increase in sign-up conversions and a 376% increase in click-through rates.
Brands and retailers can implement NexTech's 3D AR ads through a few simple lines of Web AR embed codes, providing the versatility to create interactive ads that are compatible with all major ad networks, including Google Ad Network and Doubleclick (DFP). Brands can publish 3D ads, which are cross-browser and cross-device capable, from the same assets utilized to create Web AR images with no additional work required, other than building the ad itself.
eMarketer forecasted last year that digital ads will account for 50% of total eCommerce ad spending by 2020, at more than $357 billion. NexTech, through its continued push for innovation, is well-positioned to grow alongside the largest ad platforms in the world.
NexTech's 3D ads enable consumers to experience products for themselves while shopping online, from any angle and with rich, true rendering. Providing consumers the ability to fully review an item for size, shape, color and fit before purchasing online can ultimately lead to greater revenues and reduced returns for online retailers.
NexTech now offers innovative and engaging 3D AR advertising experiences, positioning the Company to quickly penetrate the rapidly growing 3D ads market.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nextech-partners-google-3d-ad-113000729.html
LMAO Munch munch munch LMAO This is going to be fun to watch.. Caution: Criminals at work
I agree. Rigs and his board of crooks have DESTROYED EVERY SHAREHOLDER they ever had. Look at the press and how they cycle it.. Nothing ever happens, Theyre herding cats one sec, selling over seas with one of the texas companys. All the A-zzzzzz preferred stock..the RS over and over.. The stock Pump and then DUMP several times. They are just another group of Scumbags on the OTC.. However this group of trash is more severe than others because they prey on the emotions of investors. Dump these goons and put in to a water company that actually produces results not the constant run around. Trial by fire for the ones reading this. New investors Thats you.
Ontario store has Unite organic flower but at what THC% this batch? That is important for all of us to know Every batch %. Also why only 1 item from TGOD available? Still havent received the restock or did the restock sell out?
9/25 The company offers investors potential return on investment as it looks to grow via strategic international opportunities. TGOD’s hybrid facilities represent important advantages over indoor and outdoor greenhouses and set the stage for lower capex and greater profits.
https://stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/t.tgod/the-green-organic-dutchman-holdings-ltd?postid=30164837
Could The Green Dutchman be staging a 2-3 piece media blitz when/if Nasdaq granted?
In the InvestorsHub video interview of Gappelberg he said that the two e-commerce sites do 400k a month in revenue. 1.2mm is my guess for the quarter
200-400% increase in conversion rates. That is wild! You would be a fool not to have ARitize. I like the AR university myself and see huge potential with it. AR studios.. I would have to see more of their work but no one can deny the value of holograms walking and talking in front of you some place... But the 200-400% increase in conversion is so massive how can any business owner not at least look in to AR for their products?
4:15 Duffy, "We were with some pretty big folks last week and they had SKU in the thousands"
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=nextech+ar+solutions&view=detail&mid=36786AFB967C0F5DC1B036786AFB967C0F5DC1B0&FORM=VIRE
1 in 25 Canadians Are Getting Stoned At Work, According To A New Survey
It’s been almost one year since cannabis became legal in Canada. In light of the upcoming anniversary, a new study looked at the ways that cannabis has affected the workplace.
Findings from this study show that by and large legalization has had a much smaller impact on things than many Canadians previously thought.
Key Findings
The new findings come from a survey conducted by market research company Ipsos, in conjunction with workplace resource company ADP Canada.
Between August 30 and September 18, 2019, the survey questioned 1,160 Canadians 18 and older who are currently working. Specifically, the questions were about cannabis-related rules and practices in the workplace.
Here are some of the key findings from the survey:
86 percent of Canadians said their employers do not allow people to consume cannabis during work.
8 percent of Canadians said their employers do allow employees to consume marijuana during work hours.
Out of those whose employers allow cannabis, 63 percent consume weed before work, 47 percent consume during work hours, and 72 percent consume weed after work.
Extrapolating from these numbers, 5 percent of Canadian workers consume weed before work, 4 percent consume weed during work, and 6 percent of Canadian workers consume weed after work.
75 percent of survey respondents said they thought that legal cannabis has had no impact at work when it comes to health and safety concerns.
74 percent said that cannabis has not had any impact on employees’ productivity.
71 percent of Canadians in the survey said that weed has not affected absenteeism at work.
And finally, 70 percent of survey respondents said that legal weed has not impacted quality of work.
Survey Shows Cannabis Hasn’t Changed the Workplace
All in all, these numbers paint a picture in which the huge majority of workers see legalization as having little to no impact on the workplace.
Interestingly, this reality runs counter to many of the beliefs people had prior to legalization.
For example, before legalization, 46 percent of Canadians thought that legal weed would decrease productivity at work.
Similarly, 43 percent of people before weed became legal thought that quality of work would decrease.
And more than half of Canadians—55 percent—thought that legal weed would have a negative impact on health and safety in the workplace.
“There was a lot of uncertainty and hype leading up to cannabis legalization last year,” Hendrik Steenkamp, Director, HR Advisory at ADP Canada said in a press release. “But so far, cannabis has not had a noticeable impact on the workplace or on workplace performance.”
He added: “Although only a fraction of Canadian workplaces allow cannabis during the workday, it’s important for every organization to develop proper workplace guidelines and policies, as well as provide training to identify and manage impairment.”
What Do Canadians Think of Upcoming Changes to Laws?
Interestingly, Canada is in line for another potentially big legislative change. On October 17, edibles, extracts, and topicals will become legal across the country.
The survey also asked people how they feel about these upcoming changes.
At this point, 55 percent of Canadian workers don’t think the new laws will have any impact on whether or not their employers allow cannabis use during the workday.
https://hightimes.com/news/canadians-getting-stoned-work-according-new-survey/
I think a lot is riding on this new branding. Zentient, Pretty pistil, Incredibles. But most importantly is their concentrates, They have got to get in the crumble rosin and shatter game. You know the wercshop venture was a fumble so far. I never see it sell, in fact you wouldnt even know they sell the brand. The store I go to has been under some small renovations, (table and pictures)Some prep for the new branding no doubt. So if they can bring in a crumble or a rosin or shatter (doesnt matter which) at 50 right.. which I dont think they can (Margins), It would be an add on to the flower order.. The flower is obviously what brings folks in, The margins are garbage up until last week when they made every new strain a pre roll. Sure thats great margins, But that friday was save 10%. One of the things that can destroy us Is when trulieve cuts their price to 30? I know liberty can compete for now but theyre going to need some do something that reassures shareholders that managements plan hasnt been something nefarious? I am out right now but only because I wanted to get in at .27 I didnt (I believe the new branding will coincide with orlandos opening which is a bit away) and the run up is great.. However last run up i bought at .31 it went up I sold and then lower than .27. So now the money can drop it back down.. and I believe they will.. If not the sp should go back up to .40US+.
I cannot find active patient counts by county for north dakota.. So here is what I have found:
Growth rate of ND MMJ.
9/6- 1146
10/4- 1387
Next I looked up county population #'s
Fargo is #1 with over 118k which is botanist territory.
Grand Forks looks to be second with 67k. Here is a great piece of DD for you to look at the map. county locations, population count, counties surrounding the dispensary location.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_North_Dakota
Finally I looked up inventory, I am sure most of you know Pure Dakota stocks the dispensaries,, I believe there are only 2 cultivators in the state.. The deal today that is Superior to ANY OTHER DEAL is at the Botanist with their 26 dollars for 3grams of pre roll.. That is hands down the best offer.. Pure Dakota also stocks Botanist. Does anyone know if Pure Dakota rotates that deal since dispensaries are scarce and patients ability to drive across state to the botanist is not likely. Will Strive have that offer next week? I am hoping Pure Dakota rotates that offer
TGOD gets a mention
https://thedeepdive.ca/dead-cat-bounce-poking-at-the-cannabis-market/
Capital doesn’t have a track record of being intelligent, and if it decides to get back into the pot market in a volume that takes it on another run, it won’t be discerning. Accordingly, investors inclined to pick their way through the cannabis space for fundamental standouts in a rising tide may consider paying close attention to net assets. Companies with low or no debt commitments have less to lug up the hill than their peers, laboring under convertibles who surely, will be forsaken by the market gods. Moreover, from here, the companies who are going to last will already be creating jumps in QoQ revenue and QoQ sales. A lag right now would be suspect.
Margin is the investment appeal in cannabis companies, and anyone who isn’t creating it now isn’t just going to start generating it over night. Careful capital scaling into these operations is going to use gross margin as a pathfinder to operating entities, as opposed to projects.
Yeah so if they did 500k in august, is it safe to assume they did 190k in each June and July a 1 million dollar quarter? Or if we project the 10X and say 500k each month is a 1.5 quarter? In between
Item 9 Labs:10/3/19 Safety and Transparency Above All
As news of vaping sickness has overwhelmed the nation, we’ve heard from patients around the state concerned about the quality and safety of their medicinals.
We hear you.
At the time of this writing, hundreds of people have gotten sick with the mysterious illness, some fatally. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Friday said they weren’t exactly sure what product or device is getting people sick, but that most cases of vaping illness involved nicotine and illicit THC-based vape products. What we do know is that many of the illness have been associated with black market or counterfeit products with names like Dank Vapes, Moon Rocks, Off White and TKO.
A report issued last week by the CDC noted that in 96 percent of cases, people who were sickened reported vaping THC from a cartridge that they had bought informally, like on the street or from a friend. The company Dank Vapes was associated with some 66 percent of the illnesses. “Dank Vapes appears to be the most prominent in a class of largely counterfeit brands, with common packaging that is easily available online and that is used by distributors to market THC-containing cartridges with no obvious centralized production or distribution,” the report read.
It’s important to note, however, that the CDC’s investigation is ongoing. It is possible that as more information flows in, the agency will uncover other chemicals, products, or brands linked to the cases. The most recent studies relied on what people told the CDC. It’s possible that they don’t remember correctly or aren’t sharing all the details of their vaping purchases or habits.
At Item 9 Labs, transparency is one of our most essential values. We want to ensure our patients feel totally clear about what goes into products that bear the Item 9 Labs name. What a better to share more with you about what goes into our proprietary offerings.
We pride ourselves on consistency, safety and potent, reliable doses that do what they are supposed to, so our patients can medicate with confidence—every time.
At Item 9 Labs, we control every aspect of our supply chain. Every step of production is thoughtfully refined to ensure that the medicine we produce is effective and safe for consumption, without fail. We give careful consideration to our choices in vape hardware to guarantee a safe consumption temperature, always free of heavy metals. Most importantly, every Item 9 Labs product is evaluated by a certified, independent, third-party testing facility.
These testing facilities offer an essential guarantee that products are what they say they are. This quality control check was put in place to regulate our market and keep dodgy players out of the game. Patients should always look for test results while purchasing cannabis or infused products.
Everything You Want, and Nothing You Don’t
At Item 9 Labs, we use only top-tier botanically and cannabis-derived terpenes. You will NEVER find lipid-based additives like Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT), Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerin, and certainly no Vitamin E Acetate or any other kind of thickening agent in our vape cartridges or Apollo710 PODs.
We urge patients to buy vape cartridges solely from Arizona-state licensed dispensaries with required product labels containing the Batch ID, Dispensary Registration Certificate number, and an AZDHS warning statement.
Stay safe out there and stick with what you know!
Review the post from Friday. If you had noticed that the pre rolls are not selling like they did two weeks ago..Why? Because they had a at least one "new" strain in 8th form.. Im telling you guys that the pre roll only option rubbed many the wrong way.. Instead of going on friday to buy an 8th, or saturday, even today there was no option to load up with the same order a usual customer does every week.. So this curveball of shredding all the grass and sticking it in a J is very bad effect for the customer on a psychological level.. This is why I am always flipping this company.. Because they do some seriously dumb shit. The 8th brings the customer.. The pre roll is the add on.. I get upset about this stuff. They think like there is no psychological effects of their actions. The company MUST treat the customer supreme.. Otherwise when the flower price falls who will they come see?
Oh yeah? What location?
So how many shares is there outstanding... 900,000,000?
Its best effort to combat the black market. Only black market products will be the focus in weeks to come.
Oh thats really great to hear.. Having someone who is familiar and with and worked the system is the best intel. I hope we hear something good this week..
Who IS Torian Capital?
The Deep Dive wasn’t able to turn up much information on Torian Capital. The company’s website lists a Miami, FL address, but doesn’t say much about their practice or anything else. The page appears to serve mostly as a landing page for a login to an instance of third-party firm management software AltaReturn.
At harvest time, the reaper cometh
On the last day of July 2019, the cannabis debt market got serious when brand-name operator Harvest Health and Recreation (CSE: HARV) announced a $225 million senior secured debt deal with Torian Capital. In contrast to the $75 million dollars worth of wiggle room in the deal that TILT’s (potentially nominal) syndicate had ginned up, Torian knew what they wanted and meant business. The loan was to happen in three $75 million tranches, each bearing an 8% coupon, and was to be secured against specific company assets, including Harvest Health’s cannabis licenses.
It was a logical next step for Harvest, whose equity was trading at about half of its 52 week (and lifetime) peak near $14, well below the $11.42 strike price on the $100 million in notes they were already carrying at the end of June. A secured loan would allow Harvest to avoid dilution and use their revenue to manage payments as they continued to expand and scale.
Torian is a new name in cannabis finance, and the somewhat opaque family office’s big-ticket vulture offer showed up right on schedule. For industry observers, the notion that a lender would stake a revenue producing company that carried a $2 billion market cap with $225 million against a $400 million net asset value was a sort of road marker.
It’s what companies like Harvest do when the equity well goes dry, and they still need cash and what vulture banks do when hype cycles ebb. Either this market would turn itself around and Harvest would pay it all back with an equity financing at a higher number, or Torian would own the parts of Harvest worth owning at a discount. Everyone understood each other.
“Time takes a cigarette…”
Former Goldman Sachs banker and iAnthus Capital (CSE: IAN) CEO Hadley Ford, who has a reputation for being able to anticipate sector trends in finance, had a deal with Torian less than three weeks later. The $50 million deal was to be secured “by a first priority lean on all current and future assets of the company and its affiliates,” bear 9%, and show up in two $25 million tranches. iAnthus also had to give up 20% warrant coverage at a strike price of the equities price on the day of the close, +25%. Having burnt through $27 million in operating cash in the past 6 months and invested another $29 million, iAnthus wasn’t in a position to argue.
The paradox of this market is: any 2019 US cannabis company that isn’t grabbing territory, expanding its balance sheet and cap table in leaps and bounds as it goes, is stuck. To investors, there’s no upside in a company that just burns their cash operating the same, stagnant, money-losing assets while their peers expand their footprint. To show growth, a company has to be acquiring even more money losing assets, maintaining their status as aggressive players in the pre-legalization land-rush, and not just some money pit. iAnthus did a $27 million deal for a Nevada operator that included a $5 million cash component a week ago. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
But more than a month after its announcement, there’s no indication that iAnthus’ deal with Torian has closed. The first tranche of Torian’s loan to Harvest was to have closed at the end of August but, if it has, it hasn’t yet been announced.
Who IS Torian Capital?
The Deep Dive wasn’t able to turn up much information on Torian Capital. The company’s website lists a Miami, FL address, but doesn’t say much about their practice or anything else. The page appears to serve mostly as a landing page for a login to an instance of third-party firm management software AltaReturn.
Torien’s Crunchbase page lists the iAnthus loan and a $350,000 seed investment in blockchain patent startup LOCI as the company’s only known capital raises. Emails and calls placed to Torian principal David Kucher, two different Harvest IR reps and iAnthus CEO Hadley Ford were not returned by press time.
The result of all this is that these small family offices, while big in ambition, tend to fall short when it comes time to actually closing the deal. These private secured debt deals, while grand in appearances, don’t necessarily result in closed financing – something that multi state operators really can’t afford to waste their precious time with. While the secured debt is predatory in nature, the vultures appear to consistently disappear when it comes time to pay up to get the deal done.
Cont... https://thedeepdive.ca/vanishing-vultures-are-ianthus-harvest-and-tilts-debt-deals-a-predatory-trap-or-a-false-bottom/
Searches of IIROC and Canadian Securities Administrators databases by The Deep Dive were unable to find any Toronto-based investment firm that goes by UCP. Google search returns web pages for Moscow-based United Capital Partners, but no financial business of that name headquartered in Toronto.
Vanishing Vultures: Are iAnthus, Harvest and TILT’s Debt Deals A Predatory Trap Or A False Bottom?
It can be difficult to get a proper loan for growth-stage cannabis businesses that are still scaling and, for a long time, it wasn’t necessary. Tens of billions in equity investments have carried the development of large cannabis concerns on both sides of the border over the past several years.
But a slowing pace of equity investments has led to a wave of high-stakes leverage in the cannabis patch, as cash flow-negative companies are having to put hard-assets up for debt financing. Canadian companies like Organigram Holdings (TSX: OGI) and Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) have worked out deals with Canadian chartered banks for access to traditional credit facilities within the means of their cash flow, but this summer also saw the advent of private, secured debt deals being orchestrated by obscure boutique outfits and syndicates with state-side multi state operators (MSO’s).
So far, none of the announced deals appear to have been consummated. When the Deep Dive took a look into the firms behind these debt deals, it turned out there wasn’t much to look at.
Started from the bottom
It is perhaps unsurprising that the first instance of US MSO secured debt, at least in press release format, came from TILT Holdings (CSE: TILT). The self-styled cannabis-tech company had papered itself over with a $20 million bridge loan in the spring, but was burning through cash quickly, with two out of three of its business segments under water. On July 16th TILT announced a syndicated deal for $50 – $125 million in “convertible senior secured notes,” at 8%, with a quarterly coupon at a calculated conversion strike near $1.10, with a quarter warrant at $1.25 for three years. TILT was trading at $0.96 at the time the deal was announced, and closed at $0.34 today, a recent re-branding failing to have helped raise any shareholder interest.
More than two months later, TILT hasn’t yet announced the closing of the deal they made for a badly needed working capital injection. According to their press release, the money was coming “from a syndicate of institutional investors (the “Financing Syndicate”) led by UCP, a Toronto-based investment firm specializing in cannabis and alternative assets.”
Searches of IIROC and Canadian Securities Administrators databases by The Deep Dive were unable to find any Toronto-based investment firm that goes by UCP. Google search returns web pages for Moscow-based United Capital Partners, but no financial business of that name headquartered in Toronto.
At harvest time, the reaper cometh
On the last day of July 2019, the cannabis debt market got serious when brand-name operator Harvest Health and Recreation (CSE: HARV) announced a $225 million senior secured debt deal with Torian Capital. In contrast to the $75 million dollars worth of wiggle room in the deal that TILT’s (potentially nominal) syndicate had ginned up, Torian knew what they wanted and meant business. The loan was to happen in three $75 million tranches, each bearing an 8% coupon, and was to be secured against specific company assets, including Harvest Health’s cannabis licenses.
It was a logical next step for Harvest, whose equity was trading at about half of its 52 week (and lifetime) peak near $14, well below the $11.42 strike price on the $100 million in notes they were already carrying at the end of June. A secured loan would allow Harvest to avoid dilution and use their revenue to manage payments as they continued to expand and scale.
Torian is a new name in cannabis finance, and the somewhat opaque family office’s big-ticket vulture offer showed up right on schedule. For industry observers, the notion that a lender would stake a revenue producing company that carried a $2 billion market cap with $225 million against a $400 million net asset value was a sort of road marker.
It’s what companies like Harvest do when the equity well goes dry, and they still need cash and what vulture banks do when hype cycles ebb. Either this market would turn itself around and Harvest would pay it all back with an equity financing at a higher number, or Torian would own the parts of Harvest worth owning at a discount. Everyone understood each other.
“Time takes a cigarette…”
Former Goldman Sachs banker and iAnthus Capital (CSE: IAN) CEO Hadley Ford, who has a reputation for being able to anticipate sector trends in finance, had a deal with Torian less than three weeks later. The $50 million deal was to be secured “by a first priority lean on all current and future assets of the company and its affiliates,” bear 9%, and show up in two $25 million tranches. iAnthus also had to give up 20% warrant coverage at a strike price of the equities price on the day of the close, +25%. Having burnt through $27 million in operating cash in the past 6 months and invested another $29 million, iAnthus wasn’t in a position to argue.
The paradox of this market is: any 2019 US cannabis company that isn’t grabbing territory, expanding its balance sheet and cap table in leaps and bounds as it goes, is stuck. To investors, there’s no upside in a company that just burns their cash operating the same, stagnant, money-losing assets while their peers expand their footprint. To show growth, a company has to be acquiring even more money losing assets, maintaining their status as aggressive players in the pre-legalization land-rush, and not just some money pit. iAnthus did a $27 million deal for a Nevada operator that included a $5 million cash component a week ago. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
But more than a month after its announcement, there’s no indication that iAnthus’ deal with Torian has closed. The first tranche of Torian’s loan to Harvest was to have closed at the end of August but, if it has, it hasn’t yet been announced.
Who IS Torian Capital?
The Deep Dive wasn’t able to turn up much information on Torian Capital. The company’s website lists a Miami, FL address, but doesn’t say much about their practice or anything else. The page appears to serve mostly as a landing page for a login to an instance of third-party firm management software AltaReturn.
Torien’s Crunchbase page lists the iAnthus loan and a $350,000 seed investment in blockchain patent startup LOCI as the company’s only known capital raises. Emails and calls placed to Torian principal David Kucher, two different Harvest IR reps and iAnthus CEO Hadley Ford were not returned by press time.
The result of all this is that these small family offices, while big in ambition, tend to fall short when it comes time to actually closing the deal. These private secured debt deals, while grand in appearances, don’t necessarily result in closed financing – something that multi state operators really can’t afford to waste their precious time with. While the secured debt is predatory in nature, the vultures appear to consistently disappear when it comes time to pay up to get the deal done.
Information for this briefing was found via Sedar, iAnthus Capital, Harvest Health, and Tilt Holdings. The author has no securities or affiliations related to these organizations. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
https://thedeepdive.ca/vanishing-vultures-are-ianthus-harvest-and-tilts-debt-deals-a-predatory-trap-or-a-false-bottom/
Reports show sales of cannabis vapes plummeting amidst hospitalizations, deaths
Vaping products, one of the fastest-growing segments of the legal marijuana industry, have taken a hit from consumers as public health experts scramble to determine what’s causing a mysterious and sometimes fatal lung disease among people who use e-cigarettes.
The ailment has sickened at least 530 people and killed nine. Some vaped nicotine, but many reported using oil containing THC, marijuana’s high-inducing ingredient, and said they bought products from pop-up shops and other illegal sellers. The only death linked to THC vapes bought at legal shops occurred in Oregon.
Amid the health scare, the amount of the legal pot industry’s revenue that comes from vape products has dropped by 15% nationwide, with some states, including Oregon, seeing decreases of more than 60%.
Health officials in California, home to the world’s largest legal marijuana marketplace, this week issued an advisory urging people to stop all forms of vaping until a cause is determined. Massachusetts, which like California allows so-called recreational use of marijuana by people 21 and older, went further than any other state, issuing a four-month ban on vape sales.
Can Vape Companies Survive The Scare?
Vaping THC is popular for those desiring a quick high without the smoke that comes from lighting up joints. Marijuana companies are trying to boost the public’s confidence by promoting that their vaping products are tested by the government, demanding ingredient lists from their vendors and in some cases pulling items from shelves. Some also are scrambling to get liability insurance.
Still, many have seen notable declines in sales in the few weeks since the health scare emerged on a national scale.
“It’s having an impact on how consumers are behaving,” said David Alport, owner of Bridge City Collective in Portland, which in two weeks saw a 31% drop in sales of vape cartridges that hold the oil that vaporizes when heated. “People are concerned, and we’re concerned.”
In the United States’ booming legal cannabis market, vaping products have exploded in popularity. In roughly two years, they have grown from a small fraction of overall sales to about one-third, with $9.6 billion in sales between 2017 and 2019, according to New Frontier Data, an economic analysis firm that tracks the industry. About one-fifth of U.S. cannabis consumers report using them.
New Frontier found a 15% decline in the market share for vape sales nationwide during the first week of September and saw no rebound in data collected through Sept. 18. At the state level, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Nevada and Montana all saw drops of one-third or more, while California fell by 6%.
Oregon, which announced its death at the beginning of the month and said it was from a vape purchased at a regulated dispensary, saw one of the biggest drops in market share for vape revenue — 62%, said John Kagia, the firm’s chief knowledge officer.
Analysts are watching to see if further erosion occurs following congressional testimony Tuesday by Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said the number of lung illnesses could soon climb by the hundreds.
“This is a very, very fast-moving issue, and it will likely be a couple more weeks, if not months, before we understand the impact it’s really had on the retail ecosystem and on consumers’ attitudes,” Kagia said.
In an explosively growing market, “it’s not unexpected that something would come up that would be disruptive,” he said. “But the question is, how quick is the industry’s response and how agile is that response to assure the public and regulators that this issue is being addressed and there’s robust self-governance?”
How State And Health Officials Are Responding
Doctors have said the illnesses resemble an inhalation injury, with the lungs apparently reacting to a caustic substance. So far, no single vaping product or ingredient has been linked to the illnesses. Some patients who have vaped only nicotine also have gotten ill.
Health officials in New York are focusing on vitamin E acetate, a viscous solution that’s sometimes added to marijuana oils. Retailers in some markets are pulling products from their shelves that contain that and other additives. Other companies have proactively released public statements saying their vape oils contain only pure THC.
In Illinois, a message board for medical marijuana patients banned posters from sharing home vape recipes.
“I just do THC. No flavor additives. I won’t even take that chance,” said Lisa Haywood, a medical marijuana card holder who lives outside Chicago and follows the board for advice and support.
Other medical marijuana users are worried about restrictions on vaping.
If there’s a ban, “what does it do for all these people who have been seeing relief? … It is going to really impact patients and the industry that we’ve fought” to create, said Melanie Rose Rodgers, a Colorado medical cannabis patient and a leader of the state’s chapter of Americans for Safe Access, which advocates for medical marijuana patients.
State regulators track the cannabis sold to consumers but don’t monitor what additives, if any, are in marijuana oil vapes. That’s led states to begin discussions of how to tighten restrictions on vaping products even as retailers themselves try to determine which of the products on their shelves contain so-called cutting agents.
“We haven’t evolved our system that far to think about what we would test for in those products. A lot of these additives were conceptual at the time when the (marijuana legalization) law passed and the program came into place,” said Steve Marks, executive director of the Oregon Liquor License Commission, which oversees the state’s cannabis industry.
“Figuring that out is part of the evolution that we have to do as a consumer protection agency,” he said. “Science is not going to guide us because science is lagging.”
Hilary Bricken, a Los Angeles-based attorney whose firm specializes in cannabis business law and regulatory issues, said the legal marijuana industry is moving so fast that many states are “literally making this up as they go,” and the vaping scare has stripped away the sense of security that consumers get from buying from a licensed dispensary.
The vaping crisis will undoubtedly hasten tighter regulation at the state level and force the industry to patrol itself better to avoid crippling lawsuits, she said.
Bobby Burleson, an analyst with Toronto-based investment and financial services company Canaccord Genuity, said the initial problems for the vape segment of the cannabis industry should moderate, and the health scare may in the end help the legal marijuana industry.
The crisis “should ultimately accelerate the shift away from the black market for cannabis products in the U.S.,” he said.
https://420intel.com/articles/2019/09/27/reports-show-sales-cannabis-vapes-plummeting-amidst-hospitalizations-deaths
Same lying institutions that created the attack on cannabis is now creating the vape scare to scare away the illegal sales. It is a shame just how easy the corporate and our politicians can lie to us. Mystery illness LMFAIO
The Green Organic Dutchman
This Ancaster-based company plans to be the largest licensed certified organic cannabis globally, particularly once its million square foot LEED-certified greenhouse in Valleyfield, Quebec is up and running on renewable hydro power later this year. Combined with a Blue Mountain, Jamaica-based grow-op and greenhouses in Poland and Denmark in the works, TGOD promises to deliver over 200,000 kg of organic cannabis a year. Right now, it’s only selling to medical consumers (in glass jars) but it will be launching its recreational products in Ontario in mid-August. (Full disclosure: my spouse insisted we use the puny stash of funds gathering dust in my tax-free savings account to start investing in green stocks and TGOD was the first stock he purchased for me as my unofficial kitchen table investor. Naturally, it’s been one of the most anemic pot stocks on the market to date, so don’t consider this investment advice.)
Clean grid: 37% (90 once Quebec facility comes online)
Organic: 100%
Here is an article I know most of you missed.
The greening of pot: Can power-hungry cannabis sector turn over a new leaf?
By Adria Vasil
July 11, 2019
Grow-ops have long been environmental outlaws, but sungrown and organic firms trying to prove going green is good investment
If you pass the goats grazing on the hillside, you’ve missed it. Up a long country driveway at a ranch-style farm house in Ancaster, Ontario, there’s no sign telling visitors they’ve arrived at Canada’s largest licensed producer of organic cannabis. Just a badminton net. “We’re trying to give it a Google-type feel,” says VP of government affairs and social responsibility Ian Wilms on a tour of the grounds. “Employees keep asking if we’re going to start goat yoga soon.”
Wilms, a former IBM exec and chair of the Calgary Police Commission, and one of his partners had launched an LED lighting business when they decided to scope out the lighting booths at a cannabis convention. That’s when they got the bright idea to get into the cannabis business free of chemical pesticides and powered by LEDs instead of the searing high-pressure sodium lights singled out for ravenously consuming anywhere from 1 to 3% of the American grid (data is sketchy in Canada).
The Green Organic Dutchman is so far one of only a handful of companies in Canada licensed to produce certified organic cannabis. But the publicly traded firm is part a budding movement among cannabis companies trying to prove to investors, as well as customers, that they’re taking sustainability seriously, and that delivering greener pot will grow their bottom line.
In the nine months since the sector was officially un-cuffed, more and more cannabis companies have been coming out of the shadows of indoor grow-ops and capitalizing on free solar energy with hybrid greenhouses to cut energy use and curb costs. Companies like TGOD, Hexo, and even larger players like Aurora and Canopy Growth are shifting to high-tech, walled-in, glass-roofed greenhouses, as are brands explicitly promoted as “sungrown,” like Tantalus Labs and Aphria’s Solei.
Grow your pot in a greenhouse and you’ll use up to 90% less electricity than the old school indoor variety. This means significant greenhouse gas (GHG) savings for those with grow-ops in, say, Alberta (like Aurora and Canopy), whose grid is nearly 50% coal. And while Canada was recently accused of blowing its chance to be the world’s pot leader, BC and Quebec’s clean hydro-dominated grids could help us become a global centre for low-carbon cannabis.
ne way or another, it looks like the sungrown label is on track to be the next “grass-fed” or “cage-free.” There’s a Certified SunGrown seal emerging out of California. The International Cannabis Farmers Association, Cannabis Conservancy and Certified Kind have come together to create the Sun+Earth certification (funded by Dr. Bronner’s soap company). Sun+Earth certifies small scale craft cannabis grown entirely outdoors by fairly-paid farmers (mostly in California, for now). 48North’s Ontario-based Good Farm brand will be Canada’s first licensed cannabis producer that’s both field-grown and organic.
Organic or not, it’s fair to say much of Canada’s legal cannabis sector has been heavily focused on ramping up supply. But in the frenzy to deliver masses of pot and quell investor impatience, most cannabis corporations haven’t put much thought into tracking, disclosing and bettering the ESG (environmental, social and governance) indicators that are the norm in virtually every other corporate sector. Dig around for the kind of detailed corporate social responsibility and sustainability reports you’d even find on oil industry websites and you’ll be left wanting. At best, canna companies are coughing up blurbs here and there.
“We’re a little bit like awkward teenagers,” Aphria’s chief legal officer, Christelle Gedeon told IdeaCity conference-goers in Toronto last month. “There’s some cost to growing up as teenager in front of world.”
Aphria should know. The Leamington, Ontario-based cannabis company became the poster-child for poor governance (the G in ESG) in late 2018 when it was accused of insider short-selling. Earlier this week, Vaughan, Ontario-based CannTrust acknowledged it hid unlicensed growing rooms from Health Canada. In 2016 and early 2017, OrganiGram, Aurora and a Canopy subsidiary recalled certified organic medical cannabis tainted with illegal pesticides. Since then, class action lawsuits seeking millions in damages have been launched against all three companies.
Fresh polling of 600 pensions, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds with US$21.5 trillion in assets around the globe has made it pretty clear that the majority of large investors see putting money into companies that ignore environmental, social, and governance indicators as a material risk to their portfolios.
The message to rapidly expanding cannabis corporations is loud and clear: if you want more of our green, you’d better show us how green you are.
Last month, a group called the Global Cannabis Partnership (45 cannabis-involved companies including TGOD, Aphria, Canopy, Hexo) released a Responsible Cannabis Framework that sets up basic corporate social responsibility standards for its members. It doesn’t offer guidance on hot button issues like plastic packaging (which is mostly non-recyclable) or fair wages, but it does require that members track and disclose their GHGs, as well as develop ethical codes of conduct, the way, say, the apparel sector started doing way back in the 90s.
Other sectors developed these types of standards after child labour scandals, explosions [at factories] in other countries or people chaining themselves to trees,” says framework author Rick Peterson. “This is the very first industry ever to commit to getting good corporate citizenship right out of the gates.”
Well, not quite right out of the gates. ESG-rating firm Sustainalytics took a first look at the budding industry’s ESG considerations in a report released last July scoring Canada’s four biggest cannabis producers. Most of the companies scored zero.
Sustainalytics research manager, Martin Vezér, admits the industry is in its infancy but says, “We have high expectations. Some of them are expanding from the medical market into the recreational market, and the medical market should have already been working on some of these factors such as governance and disclosing information about environmental management and pesticides.”
In signing onto the framework, members have a year to start tracking and disclosing that data and, if they choose, get accredited. Several Canadian pot firms are also in the midst of seeking accreditation through the Colorado- and Nelson-B.C.-based Cannabis Conservancy, which does energy, waste, land use and pesticide audits before doling out its Simply Eco seal.
“The cannabis sector is growing rapidly, and with that growth comes the privilege of being able to demonstrate to the world that we can be responsible to our physical and social environments while providing world class products to consumers,” says Hexo’s VP of corporate social responsibility, Terry Lake, who also happens to be B.C.’s former environment minister. This spring, the company harvested the first plants from its million-square-foot glass-topped greenhouse in Gatineau. It’s piloting LED lights in a portion of that hydro-powered greenhouse, which also gets 40% of its water from captured rain and recycled H20.
At a time when even conventional players are trying to green their game to curb costs and court investors, which cannabis companies are going the extra green mile? Check out our roundup below.
The other million-dollar question is whether Canadian consumers will fork out for greener bud the way they have for organic foods. Research from Hill+Knowlton found 57% of medical patients would prefer organic cannabis, but what about recreational users? The survey found 43% of recreational users had the same preference. The trouble is so far, organic cannabis can still be hard to find. Search for “organic” in the provincially-run online cannabis stores in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta and no buds come up (odd, considering the Ontario Cannabis Store carries Whistler Cannabis’ organic products). And when you do find them, organic strains can clock in at up to twice the price. Though Rubicon Organics and Green Farm say they’ll deliver organic marijuana for less.
And with some tokers falsely assuming that all weed is eco-friendly (blame it on hemp fabric’s sustainable rep), greener brands, no doubt, have an uphill education battle ahead of them.
Either way, TGOD’s Wilms says sustainability will be critical to the sector’s long-term health, especially if it’s serious about risk management. “If you’re not doing this in a sustainable manner,” Wilms affirms, “you won’t be successful.”
CANADA’S GREENEST CANNABIS COMPANIES
Here’s a roundup of some of the most eco-friendly pot producers in Canada. Since electricity is a main ingredient in most cannabis in this country, we calculated what percentage of each company’s grid is considered renewable. Note that the federal ‘Canada Organic’ label won’t be appearing on cannabis products anytime soon, since use of that red, green and black logo is still restricted to food.
Yes! Let that sweet cheeva fill your lungs... I shall join you. Bedford
Great getting the new grass in but I have been hearing from more than a few patients.. Some in line.. that these pre rolls are a real kick to the teeth to their loyal customers.. They should definitely have not made all the new grass in pre roll. Its something that is unattractive psychologically and is not going to please their customers.. I would consider thinking over what the effects, beside the higher profit, of leaving only 1 strain (the SAME OLD BORING SHIT A5 STRAIN) in an 8th. It is not so sly and the patient sees that.. so when trulieve lowers their price and it comes down to making that decision.. ill go with trulieve the next time they pull this shredded up shake for sale next week.
The company reaffirmed its fiscal-year revenue guidance earlier this month, calling for sales to nearly triple to $145 million to $150 million, but the stock is likely to struggle if the vaping backlash continues to constrain its ability to raise cash. With many medical and recreational marijuana users on edge following the recent vape-related health scares caused by counterfeit and/or bootlegged products, more and more cannabis companies are joining. MAKE NO MISTAKE THE MYSTERY ILLNESS IS THE INDUSTRY PLAN TO ATTACK THE BLACK MARKET
Yes why do you keep saying that? explain yourself
I have no idea what youre talking about man.. I dont even think you do?
Explain yourself?
Yeah I know.. But havent all cannabis stocks? Explain ACB APHA TGOD MMNFF CVSI CBWTF ACRG CGC blah blah blah
Whatever you wanna do. Take the opportunity to average down at this price today.