Avicanna Closes Private Placement With Chinese Pharma Group Tasly

Versión en Español en El Planteo: Avicanna Cierra Inversión Privada con el Gigante Farmacéutico Tasly

Ontario-based cannabis researcher and producer Avicanna AVCNF announced Tuesday the closing of a private placement deal led by Tasly.

Tasly Holding Group Co., Ltd. is a Chinese pharmaceutical and health care company with a $22-billion market cap. The group is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The CA$2.56-million ($1.81 million) deal includes the purchase of 3.2 million units at a price of CA$0.80 per unit. Each unit consists of one Avicanna common share plus one quarter of one common share purchase warrant, exercisable until April 2, 2022, at a price of CA$1.20 per Warrant Share.

Coupled with reduced expenditures and re-focused business model, the funds give Avicanna the runway to execute its business plan, said CEO Aras Azadian. 

Avicanna plans to use the funding for commercialization, corporate development and general working capital purposes. 

“When we initiated the financing, our stock price was depressed and the COVID-19 pandemic was making it difficult for all companies to raise money. However, we are fortunate to have reached our target raise and to have done so with strategic investors, including our long-term shareholders and new strategic partner, Tasly,” Azadian said. 

The investment from a global pharmaceutical company validates Avicanna’s pharmaceutical approach to the cannabis business, he said. 

The company operates an R&D laboratory in Toronto and cultivates cannabis in two majority-owned locations in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Lead image by Ilona Szentivanyi. Copyright: Benzinga.