Akanda to Acquire Portugal-based Holigen, Securing a Cannabis Sector Leadership Position in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with EU GMP Market Access

International medical cannabis company Akanda Corp. (“Akanda” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AKAN) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Holigen Limited (“Holigen”) from The Flowr Corporation (“Flowr”) (TSXV: FLWR, OTC: FLWPF). The proposed acquisition will significantly accelerate Akanda’s seed-to-patient business model in the EMEA region, improving the Company’s ability to meet growing demand for medical cannabis and positioning it for adult use markets as regulations evolve.

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The acquisition includes a premium 20,000 square foot indoor cultivation site in Sintra, Portugal, one of a limited number of fully certified EU GMP sites of its kind in Europe. The facility is designed to produce over two tonnes of high-THC premium medical cannabis per year. (Photo: Business Wire)

The highly complementary acquisition of Holigen, the owner of a Portugal-based cultivator, manufacturer and distributor, provides Akanda with both the capacity and route-to-market for delivering first-party and third-party (“1P/3P”) EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified medical cannabis to legal EU markets through an efficient vertically integrated model. Holigen’s wholly owned subsidiary RPK Biopharma Unipessoal, Lda (“RPK”), consists of a high-quality 20,000 square foot indoor EU GMP certified grow facility located near Lisbon (in Sintra) dedicated to the cultivation of high-THC premium cannabis as well as a large seven million square foot (180+ acres) outdoor facility located two hours south in Aljustrel. Combined, the Company believes these facilities will provide the flexibility of capacity in Portugal to produce two tonnes of 1P premium indoor cannabis, over 100 tonnes of 1P outdoor cannabis, and over eight tonnes of 3P manufacturing capacity annually.

Holigen’s prized purpose-built indoor grow facility is the only one of its kind that can produce EU GMP medical cannabis equivalent to the recreational grades available in North America. Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition, Akanda will also benefit from the genetics library available from Flowr, including its award-winning BC Pink Kush, BC Black Cherry and BC Strawnana as well as certain new exotic genetics that will be exported to Portugal from Canada. Holigen harvested approximately 300 kilograms of medical cannabis in the first quarter of 2022. Initial in-process testing for both genetics of medical cannabis are indicating high THC content levels of greater than 25%.