LOS ANGELES, CA, Jan. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agritek Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: AGTK) www.AgritekHoldings.com, a fully integrated, active real estate investor for the cannabis sector and consultant for multiple cannabis brands, today released the following Letter to Shareholders from the Company's Chief Executive Officer B. Michael Friedman.
The New Year is often a time of earnest reflection on the developments of last year and ambitious goal-setting for the year ahead. I am pleased to say that 2017 was a year of transformation and tremendous progress for the Company in our last quarter in terms of uniquely positioning our Company’s land assets and the brands for long term.
I would first like to thank all of the shareholders for their continued support with the Company. We greatly appreciate the trust you have placed in Agritek Holding’s operations, management, and mission over the last seven years as a pioneer and survivor within the cannabis sector. There is no doubt that yesterday’s news of the present administration's potential reversal of state’s rights with regard to the recreational cannabis sector cast a dark shadow upon our industry. However, Agritek Holdings as a Company and our business model is in fact, separate and unique from any other Company within the sector. The Company has distinctly separated itself as a land owner and REIT model, does not cultivate, owns no licenses or dispensaries as an entity and works only as a brand consultant to create cannabis brands receiving a packaging royalty. By creating revenue through rent payments and equity in brands we have relatively no exposure to any new potential change in regulation, especially with a focus by the Company within the medicinal market.
I specifically wanted this letter to include some of the following accomplishments made by the Company over the past year that clearly distinguish Agritek Holdings from the rest of the Companies both fully reporting and those not reporting within the cannabis sector:
-We were featured in television news segments that ran nationally on Fox Business News first starting in October 2017, with new updated segments discussing new acquisitions and products of the Company beginning this month January of 2018 on Fox Business in national markets.
-Derivative Actions that burdened the Company since mid-2016 have now have been mostly eliminated and paid in full and terminated as of December 31st, 2017. During the last year there has been substantial dilution to our Common Stock due to debt holders converting their aged notes into Common Stock and immediately selling those shares into the market. We have seen our authorized Common Stock twice exhausted during this process. The good news is that we have now reduced almost all of our outstanding convertible debt with multiple lenders, and now have a stronger balance sheet of more cash, with the elimination of toxic debt that will enable us to develop and market our properties and brands we have previously announced, while at the same time hope to increase share value.
- We have paid off in full the initial 80 acres of our proposed Hemp farm in Pueblo, Colorado and are negotiating to increase our ownership position to 900 acres in segments. We are in the final stages of our Hemp research license with our third party licensee and in the process of delivering our second grow pod to the property. The crop is a non-THC crop for production of pharma research and nutraceutical products including oral strips, soft gels and tinctures under licensed brands of Agritek Holdings.
- The Company uplisted to the OTCQB from the pink sheets to reach the highest reporting standards within the smallcap markets, becoming completely transparent in financial reporting to investors.
- The Company’s CEO has licensed what will be the first operating “bud and breakfast” located in Canada under new decriminalization laws in Canada starting in 2018. The property is fully owned by the CEO, with 100% of all revenue from guest stays, classes, and products sold going completely to the Company under the lease and operating agreement. Agritek is one of the first US cannabis Companies to have operations in Canada, being a favorable jurisdiction and giving great diversification and safety of investment as well as being the first in approaching the cannabis industry from a hospitality aspect.
- The Company has brought on a new Chief Technology Officer, Anton Ansalmar, who has allowed Agritek to acquire technology both unique and complaint to all cannabis jurisdictions. The new system labeled “Herbi” which allows for inventory, compliance, web based orders to be fulfilled through delivery and an “Uber-like” application allowing for the patient to see the delivery coming is unlike anything the industry has seen, bringing a tremendous valuation through investment in technology. The system, to be launched this month, has already been accepted to receive API’s by the California Cannabis Track-and-Trace system (CCTT), using Franwell, Inc. Metrc software, which is a 'seed-to-sale' supply chain system for tracking and monitoring commercial cannabis inventory and activity across the distribution chain that will allow California to fulfill its statutory mandate.
Overview 2018 goals and milestones
The current year is expected to be a busy year of development and expansion of our multi -pronged real estate and branding company catering to the marijuana industry. Our plan for the coming year is the build out of our recent acquisitions and strategic assets in the hope of building a dynamic company that is uniquely positioned within the cannabis industry.
1) Expansion of our Pueblo Hemp farm as well as Washington state, Puerto Rico and California investments. We plan to begin development of additional properties to complement our existing holdings using third party licensees.
2) Broadening management team and advisors: As the company continues to mature within our industry, we recognize the need to have our management team broadened and to have specific proven backgrounds that can help strategically place the company within our marketplace.
3) Develop strategic partners and joint ventures for the implementation of our real estate portfolio: The marijuana sector is uniquely specialized as it relates to real estate. Each state and municipality is customized to the specific needs of its' regulations. We will use our present capital infusion of up to one million dollars wisely, and not make the mistakes of others within our industry spending millions of dollars on infrastructure, licenses and cultivation facilities in uncertain regulatory environments.
4) Our voting structure with our CEO as the majority voting shareholder allows us to be fluid and act quickly on new regulations or situations that arise within our sector to capitalize on new opportunities.
As we move forward, we will strive to capitalize on our recent momentum and create increased shareholder value for this dynamic and potentially highly lucrative industry for our shareholders, partners and associates. We look forward to 2018 and beyond to be strategic in Agritek Holdings, being innovative and fluid as an industry leader in the specialty of real estate, brands, and technology for the marijuana industry.
Respectfully,
B. Michael Friedman
CEO, Agritek Holdings Inc.
Safe Harbor: This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Agritek Holdings Inc, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “can,” “believe,” “potential” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Agritek Holdings Inc. ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. More information about the potential factors that could affect the business and financial results is and will be included in Agritek Holdings, Inc. filings with the OTC Markets, Securities and Exchange Commission and/or the company’s website.