Wayland Group Signs Definitive Agreement with ICC International Cannabis Corp. to Sell 49.9% of International Business

TORONTO, April 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wayland Group (CSE:WAYL) (75M.F) (MRRCF) (“Wayland” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a definitive agreement to sell a 49.9% interest in Wayland’s international portfolio of assets to ICC International Cannabis Corp. (CSE:WRLD.u) (8K51.F) (WLDCF) (“ICC”). The terms of the definitive agreement are consistent with the Letter of Intent that was announced on January 15, 2019.  Wayland will receive 300,000,000 shares of ICC under the agreement, representing approximately 35% of the current outstanding ICC shares on a fully diluted basis. Wayland is also pleased to announce that Matthew McLeod, the current General Counsel and Vice President Operations and Compliance, has been appointed as President effective immediately.

In addition, under the proposed transaction Wayland will sign a three-year supply agreement with ICC that will supply ICC with 10,000kg of EU-GMP certified product per year, for a total of 30,000kg during the term. 

Prior to closing, Wayland’s international business will be reorganized and held in a subsidiary which will be jointly owned by Wayland and ICC. Wayland will retain the right to appoint the board of directors and management of the Wayland international subsidiary.

Ben Ward, CEO of Wayland commented, “The proposed transaction with ICC will help Wayland to execute on the vision and platform established over the past two-and-a-half years to bring medical cannabis to evolving global markets. From our initial one-hectare site in Langton, Ontario, Canada, we have transformed the company into a global leader with a reputation for quality, externally validated by three federal Licenses from Health Canada, winning an initial allotment for our joint venture DEMECAN GmbH in Germany from BfArM and end to end export/import EU-GMP certification for both Canadian and German facilities.”

The Company expects this transaction to increase Wayland’s exposure to an international footprint that the Company believes provides superior potential opportunities. It also creates an opportunity for synergies with ICC, building on the early establishment built by ICC and by Wayland in multiple European countries with minimal overlap. Wayland has built an impressive international portfolio of assets and the Company intends to collaborate with ICC to develop mutually beneficial production and distribution strategies, branding campaigns, as well as strategies for the continued penetration of new cannabis and CBD markets and verticals.

Wayland’s previously announced strategic review continues to explore options to maximize the value of Wayland’s international and Canadian businesses for the benefit of its shareholders and other stakeholders, and such options may include transactions with other third parties. 

Internationally, Wayland expects to continue to work to identify opportunities to unlock and create additional value for its shareholders from its international footprint. In Canada, subject to developments in the strategic review, Wayland will continue to serve its provincial partners and existing patient base. Shipments from Wayland’s state-of-the-art EU-GMP designated facility in Langton, Ontario to Cannamedical in Germany have also begun. Wayland believes this currently represents the largest international export contract in the industry.

The proposed transaction with ICC remains subject to conditions to closing, including receipt of any applicable third party, securityholder and regulatory consents and approvals, the completion of a reorganization of Wayland’s international business and the receipt by each of Wayland and ICC of fairness opinions from their respective financial advisors and other customary conditions to closing a transaction of this nature. A copy of the definitive agreement will be filed under Wayland’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Wayland Group

Wayland is a vertically integrated cultivator and processor of cannabis. The Company was founded in 2013 and is based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada and Munich, Germany, with production facilities in Langton, Ontario where it operates a cannabis cultivation, extraction, formulation, and distribution business under federal licenses from the Government of Canada. The Company also has production operations in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, Regensdorf, Switzerland and, Allesandria, Piedmont, Italy. Wayland will continue to pursue new opportunities globally, including the consummation of its previously announced transactions in the United Kingdom, Australia, Colombia, and Argentina, in its effort to enhance lives through cannabis.