Key Takeaways; Cannabis Sector

• Tilray Brands announced accretive strategic transaction with HEXO.

• High Tide’s revenue skyrocketed by 98%.

• SpringBig became the largest publicly traded loyalty and marketing automation platform in the cannabis industry.

Key Takeaways; Psychedelic Sector

Below is a weekly roundup on the top companies that dominated the headlines in the cannabis and psychedelic sectors with top deals and announcements.

Top Marijuana Companies for Week

#1: Tilray

Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) was able to negotiate a lower pricing for HEXO Corp. (NASDAQ: HEXO). The changes to the original deal included an additional discount on Tilray Brands’ purchase price as well as the reduction of the conversion price under the HEXO convertible notes. Under the new amendments, Tilray Brands’ purchase price was reduced from C$0.85 to C$0.40 per share. The acquisition deal is likely to close on or around July 15, 2022.

As part of the new deal, Tilray Brands will purchase the HEXO secured convertible notes from HT Investments MA LLC, which will include 100% of the existing $185 million outstanding principal balance of the HEXO convertible notes, as well as any accrued and unpaid interest. Under the terms of the amended agreements, Tilray will pay 89.2% of the HEXO convertible notes’ outstanding principal balance, which equates to a 10.8% discount on the outstanding principal amount.

Irwin D. Simon, Tilray Brands’ Chairman and CEO, said, “We believe HEXO continues to be the right strategic partner for Tilray Brands in Canada and, therefore, look forward to closing this transaction in July and working with HEXO to deliver on the promise and the potential of this partnership for our shareholders, consumers, and employees.”

Charlie Bowman, HEXO’s President and CEO, added, “The strategic alliance with Tilray Brands accelerates HEXO’s operational turnaround and unlocks capital to expand our market leadership globally. The partnership is an essential next step in improving our capital structure, and we’re confident that the synergies realized will reset the industry.”

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#2: High Tide

After the market closed on Tuesday, Jun 14, 2022, High Tide Inc. (NASDAQ: HITI) released its financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2022, which ended on April 30, 2022. According to the financial results, High Tide’s revenue climbed to $81.0 million from $40.9 million the previous quarter, which was a 98% increment. Sequentially, revenue increased by 12% compared to the first quarter of 2022. This was the second-highest quarterly sales amount reported in Canadian dollars by a Canadian cannabis company.

Additionally, in the second quarter, the net loss was reduced by 33% to $8 million, compared to a net loss of $12 million in the same period last year.

“Once again, I can proudly report that High Tide continues to see consistent and significant growth year-over-year and sequentially with every passing quarter, despite a persistently challenging macro environment and the state of the capital markets. Since its launch, the ongoing growth of our innovative discount club model has resulted in a 48% increase in daily same-store sales, contributing to our 98% revenue growth over the same quarter last year,” said Raj Grover, President, and Chief Executive Officer of High Tide.

Furthermore, High Tide said that through its subsidiaries in certain states in the US it plans to restart sales of hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, which are extracted from cannabis plants that meet the definition of “hemp” under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

In addition, High Tide said that it aims to expand revenue through the third fiscal quarter of 2022 and the rest of the year through organic growth and accretive M&A. The company wants to have at least 150 stores open, by the end of the year. Currently, its Canadian retail portfolio includes 126 stores. The company also stated that it plans to enter the British Columbia market in the third fiscal quarter of 2022 and that it will continue to grow strategically in other provinces where it already operates.

#3: SpringBig

SpringBig Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIG) (NASDAQ: SBIGW) a leading provider of SaaS-based marketing solutions, consumer mobile app experiences, and omnichannel loyalty programs to the cannabis industry, and Tuatara Capital Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ: TCAC) announced on June 15, 2022 that their previously announced business combination had been finalized.

On June 9, 2022, TCAC shareholders approved the Business Combination in a special general meeting. And as a result of the Business Combination’s completion, TCAC changed its name to SpringBig Holdings, Inc. Subsequently, the common stock and warrants of TCAC were renamed “SBIG” and “SBIGW,” respectively, and began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

SpringBig is the largest customer loyalty and marketing platform in the cannabis industry and is the provider of choice and trusted partner to many leading cannabis retailers and brands across North America. The Company serves over 1,300 clients with more than 2,400 retail locations.

Top Psychedelic Company for Week

#1: Awakn

Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (NEO: AWKN) (OTC: AWKNF) reported its financial results for the first quarter ending April 30, 2022. In contrast to the previous year, Awakn’s clinics brought in $253,154 in revenue, which was a 23.9% increase, compared to the three months ended January 31, 2022.

The company said the revenue increase was primarily driven by the provision of ketamine-assisted therapies at the Oslo clinic in Norway and the Bristol clinic, which is the flagship London clinic in the UK that just started offering treatments in April 2022.

Anthony Tennyson, Chief Executive Officer of Awakn Life Sciences, said, “Today’s results demonstrate the significant momentum building in our business across both our research and development pipeline and in our therapeutics commercialization business. The addiction treatment market opportunity is, unfortunately, large and growing, and Awakn is uniquely positioned to offer proven therapeutics supported by data to sufferers for whom the current standard of care is inadequate and relapse rates are unacceptably high.”

Moreover, Awakn stated that it is still concentrating on several forms of addiction treatment. Recently, the company initiated a behavioral study that looked into using ketamine to treat gambling disorder; the study will be the first worldwide examination of this method of treating gambling disorder. Additionally, the company submitted a PCT application for the use of ketamine and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of behavioral addictions. This came after the successful completion of company’s behavioral addictions study, and the data provided from the study was used in the patent filing.

In addition, the company stated that it has $2.8 million in cash, and it expects to open another clinic soon. Awakn also said that it is hoping to receive regulatory and ethics approval for Phase III clinical trial for Ketamine-Assisted Therapy for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

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