Grenville Strategic Royalty Announces Equity Investment Increase to 13% in Cannabis Business Inner Spirit
Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp. has reached an agreement with Inner Spirit Holding Ltd. to convert Grenville’s $1-million royalty agreement in Watch It! Consolidated Ltd. to 10 million shares in Inner Spirit Holding Ltd. at a price of 10 cents per share. Watch It! is a wholly owned subsidiary of Inner Spirit and is current in all royalty payment due to Grenville under the royalty agreement. With the conversion, Grenville now holds 14,455,000 shares or approximately 13 per cent of the total issued and outstanding common shares of Inner Spirit. The conversion provides Grenville exposure to Inner Spirit’s recreational cannabis business and its retail growth strategy.
Inner Spirit is the parent company of Spirit Leaf Inc., which aims to be a market leader in the franchising of retail cannabis dispensaries in jurisdictions in Canada where private distribution is legalized. Spirit Leaf has entered into 95 franchise agreements for proposed retail locations in Canada.
“This transaction demonstrates another lever in our toolbox to optimize returns, by blending royalties with the upside of equity returns. Inner Spirit has constructed an impressive retail footprint in preparation for the launch of the recreational cannabis market in Canada,” said Steve Parry, chief executive officer of Grenville. “In select cases where we believe the equity gains can dramatically outperform the royalty returns, like the situation that arose with the integration of Spirit Leaf and Watch It!, a conversion to equity in a broader based business like Inner Spirt makes sense for our shareholders. We look forward to continuing to support Inner Spirit management as they execute their growth strategy.”
“The transaction demonstrates the flexibility of Grenville’s model to support entrepreneurs through the different phases of their growth. We are very excited about our next phase of growth at Inner Spirit as we prepare for the launch of the Canadian recreation cannabis market this year,” said Darren Bondar, chief executive officer of Inner Spirit. “With 95 executed retail agreements and the recent strategic supply relationship announced earlier this month, we are well positioned to be a leading Canadian retail provider of cannabis in markets where private distribution is legal. We look forward to drawing on Grenville’s experience and expertise as we execute our growth strategy.”
About Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp.
Based in Toronto, Grenville Strategic Royalty is a publicly traded royalty company that makes investments in established businesses with revenues of up to $50-million. Grenville generates revenues from royalty payments, buyouts from contracts and equity returns. The non-dilutive royalty financing structure offered by Grenville competes directly with traditional equity to meet the long-term financing needs of companies on more attractive commercial terms.
About Inner Spirit
Inner Spirit is a specialty retailer and franchise company that is applying its management’s significant franchise experience and model to the recreational cannabis market. The first and only Canadian cannabis focused company to be granted Canadian Franchise Association membership to date, Inner Spirit intends to establish a chain of recreational cannabis dispensaries under its Spiritleaf brand, with the vision of becoming the leading private recreational cannabis retail dispensary chain in Canada. Spiritleaf aims to be the most knowledgeable and trusted source of recreational cannabis, offering a premium consumer