OAKLAND, Nov. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FLRish Inc., a California corporation d/b/a Harborside (“Harborside”), which manages the iconic Harborside dispensaries, today announced that it has raised approximately $26 million USD in a Series B Convertible Debenture financing. The lead investor in the financing was Navy Capital, with participation from Tidal Royalty Corp. (CSE: RLTY.U) (“Tidal Royalty”), Salveo Capital, and other investors. The net proceeds from the financing will be used to fuel Harborside’s retail expansion throughout California and the company’s vertical integration within the state. Foundation Markets Inc., a Toronto-based firm licensed as an exempt market dealer, acted as the lead agent and bookrunner in connection with the Canadian brokered portion of the financing.
Harborside’s strategy to expand market share will focus on growing its retail footprint throughout California, leveraging the Harborside brand in its best-in-class operations throughout the state. The Company is also expanding its cultivation and production operations through enhancement of its existing facilities, and launching new branded products and product lines.
“Harborside is California’s longest running cannabis operator, and with more than USD $300 million dollars in products sold over the past decade and countless patients served, our insight into the state’s cannabis market is unparalleled,” said Andrew Berman, CEO of Harborside. “Since California adopted a fully-regulated adult use market on January 1, 2018, its $3.4 billion-dollar cannabis industry is projected to grow at a 27% CAGR over the next three years1. With our unique level of experience in the state, we are poised to quickly capture significant share of that rapidly growing market.”
“As we transition from a non-profit to a for-profit company under California’s adult-use program, Harborside looks forward to expanding its presence, spreading its value system, and providing premium products at affordable prices throughout the state,” said Steve DeAngelo, Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Harborside.
“Harborside, one of the most iconic and well-known brands in the cannabis industry, with an extensive and loyal customer base, is poised for significant expansion in the California market,” said Michael Gruber and Jeffrey Howard, Managing Partners at Salveo Capital. “Being vertically integrated in the largest cannabis market in the world, with a proven track record of retail success, was the driving force behind Salveo Capital’s investment. We’re excited about the California market and Harborside’s ability to quickly scale, and lead a team of seasoned and passionate industry professionals. We are honored to have the opportunity to add such a quality, household brand like Harborside to our portfolio.”
"We're excited to be assisting Harborside in achieving this important milestone" said Adam Szweras, Chairman of Foundation Markets. "The financing was very well received by the market and the investors were impressed with the caliber and professionalism of the company’s management. We look forward to continuing working with Harborside as it embarks on its expansion strategy in California and moves closer to becoming a public company."
In August 2018, Harborside entered into a binding letter agreement with Lineage Grow Company Ltd. ("Lineage") to complete a reverse takeover transaction ("Transaction") that will enable Harborside to complete a public listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"), pending regulatory and shareholder approvals. The parties continue to work towards finalizing the definitive agreement that will set out the terms between the parties and the disclosure document to required qualify for listing on the CSE. FMI Capital Advisory Inc., a Toronto-based merchant and investment banking group, is acting as an advisor to Harborside with respect to Transaction.
For more information, please visit www.shopharborside.com.
About Harborside
FLRish, Inc., currently manages the Harborside Oakland and Harborside San Jose retail stores in California, which legalized adult-use cannabis sales on January 1, 2018, and is projected to be the largest adult-use cannabis market in the United States. The Harborside Oakland dispensary was founded in 2006 by Steve DeAngelo and dress wedding; the Harborside brand today is well known throughout California and globally. Through its retail management business division, FLRish controls the Harborside brand and retail stores, including new locations opening in 2019.
Forward-Looking Statements
When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include expected use of proceeds and other statements of fact.
Completion of the RTO is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”) acceptance and shareholder approval. Where applicable, the RTO cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the RTO will be completed as proposed or at all.
Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or listing statement to be prepared in connection with the RTO, any information released or received with respect to the RTO may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon.
The CSE has in no way passed upon the merits of the RTO and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.
1 Arcview Market Research in partnership with BDS Analytics. (2018, June 28). “The State of Legal Marijuana Markets, Sixth Edition” (SOLMM6) [Report]. Retrieved from http://research.arcviewgroup.com/solmm6/