CannaRoyalty Corp. an active investor and operator in the legal cannabis industry, is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced $12 million debt financing with a subsidiary of Sprott Inc.. CannaRoyalty expects to draw upon the facility as accretive opportunities arise. Concurrent with the Financing, CannaRoyalty and Sprott have begun reviewing investment opportunities for their previously announced joint venture.
"We expect our relationship with Sprott to drive significant value for CannaRoyalty shareholders as we continue to build our portfolio of value-add cannabis assets," said Marc Lustig, CEO of CannaRoyalty. "Our Company is set up to invest in and provide expertise to leaders in specific, competitively-advantaged segments of the high-growth cannabis industry. In addition to providing access to additional capital the partnership between CannaRoyalty and Sprott brings together our sector-specific expertise and Sprott's proven track record as an alternative investor in the natural resource sector. Given the quality of the opportunities we are reviewing in the Canadian cannabis market, we believe the timing to launch this joint venture is ideal."
"We look forward to supporting and working with CannaRoyalty as it seeks to expand its footprint in the growing legal Canadian cannabis market," said Andrew Stronach, Managing Director of Sprott.
Financing
CannaRoyalty has executed a revolving $12 million secured credit facility with Sprott Canna Holdco Corp. today. The facility has a three-year term and is secured against the Canadian assets of CannaRoyalty. Any outstanding principal amount will bear interest at an annual rate of 10%, payable quarterly in cash or CannaRoyalty shares issued at a 10% discount. The proceeds of the Financing are expected to be used for specific opportunities that CannaRoyalty is pursuing for production and/or processing assets, as well as general corporate purposes.
In addition, CannaRoyalty warrants were issued to Sprott on June 19, 2017 which entitle Sprott to purchase 1.8 million CannaRoyalty shares at an exercise price of $2.05 per share for a period of three years after closing. The warrants are non-transferable, other than to certain permitted transferees.
Joint Venture
The JV will focus on debt investment opportunities in the rapidly growing legal Canadian cannabis sector. The legal structure of the JV will be determined in the context of each JV investment. The types of assets that the JV may target include licensed producers, licensed producer applicants, production assets, property, and equipment.
CannaRoyalty will leverage its cannabis sector experience, deep industry relationships and investment pipeline to identify and refer attractive Canadian opportunities to the JV. Additionally, CannaRoyalty will assist Sprott in completing due diligence and providing strategic support to JV investments, as well as the structuring, negotiation, and monitoring of those investments. Sprott will provide the JV with its significant expertise and experience as a provider of asset backed investment capital in specialized areas that are not fully served by traditional credit providers. Financing for each investment, expected to include both debt and equity upside, will be arranged by Sprott and include participation by CannaRoyalty, if desired by CannaRoyalty. As partner in the JV, CannaRoyalty will participate in realized returns from investments made, following a customary private equity style waterfall. CannaRoyalty will also have the opportunity to directly enter into royalty, streams, offtake agreements or other business relationships with JV borrowers.
Sprott Capital Partners acted as strategic advisor to the foregoing transactions.
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