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Tag: Sanity Group

  • BAT Funds $48M for Organigram’s Sanity Group Acquisition

    BAT Funds $48M for Organigram’s Sanity Group Acquisition

    Organigram Global Inc. revealed that it has entered into a subscription agreement with BT DE Investments Inc. – a wholly-owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco – to fund its previously announced acquisition of Sanity Group GmbH. Under the agreement, BAT will subscribe for 14,027,074 common shares at C$3 ($2.19) each and exercise top-up rights for 9,897,356 additional shares at C$2.335854 ($1.71), generating total gross proceeds of C$65.2 million ($47.6 million).

    The proceeds, along with cash on hand and funds from a previously arranged up to $60 million senior secured credit facility, will be used to finance the cash portion of the acquisition, transaction costs, and general working capital. To ensure BAT does not exceed a 30% ownership threshold post-issuance, the company will issue non-voting Class A convertible preferred shares if needed, which can be converted into common shares under specified conditions. Shareholder approval for the acquisition and private placement will be sought at Organigram’s annual and special meeting on March 30, in compliance with TSX rules and related-party transaction regulations. The Board unanimously approved the deals, with BAT’s nominees abstaining from voting.

  • BAT Invests in Sanity Group

    BAT Invests in Sanity Group

    Photo: PiyawatNandeenoparit

    BAT, via one of its wholly owned group companies, has acquired a noncontrolling minority stake in Sanity Group, one of Germany’s leading cannabis companies.

    This investment is complementary to other recent investments made by BAT companies, most notably the strategic R&D collaboration established with Canada’s Organigram Holdings announced in March last year.

    Sanity Group, which is based in Berlin, produces CBD consumer brands and medical cannabis brands. It also has a proven track record in the research, development and marketing of cannabis products. 

    “Investing in Sanity Group is another example of BAT’s ongoing work to explore numerous areas beyond nicotine, positioning BAT for future portfolio growth across a range of categories and geographies,” said Kingsley Wheaton, chief growth officer at BAT, in a statement.

    “We continue to transform our business through better understanding of our current and future consumers as part of our ‘A Better Tomorrow’ purpose.”

    Sanity secured $37.6 million in the BAT-led Series B funding round, according to Sanity founder and CEO Finn Age Hansel. About half of the funding will go toward strengthening Sanity’s medical business. The rest of the funding will go toward preparing for the possible legalization of recreational marijuana in Germany.

    Germany has not legalized recreational cannabis yet, but action is expected sooner rather than later. Germany’s coalition government is “working actively on it and really want[s] to come to a good draft of the law by the end of this year,” Hansel said. “This is really a priority topic for the government.”

    “This funding is an important milestone for us and a strong signal toward the future of cannabis in Germany and Europe,” said Max Narr, chief investment officer at Sanity Group. “Against the backdrop of a challenging global economy, we are proud to have achieved a funding round of this magnitude.”