Midas Letter

Canopy Growth Corp (TSE:WEED) (NYSE:CGC) (FRA:11L1) was the recipient of what was effectively a $5 billion takeover by NYSE-listed Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ). Bruce Linton, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Canopy explains how he first got the attention of Constellation CEO Robert Sands that led to the historic partnership.

Transcript:

James West:    Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment probably doesn’t need much introduction. Oh, we’ll give him an introduction – Mr. $5 Billion Man himself, Bruce Linton, CEO and founder of [drums] Canopy Growth Corporation.

Bruce Linton:  Wow, man, I thought maybe you got the 5 billion. Got the new studio…

James West:    I feel like I did.

Bruce Linton:  You know, I come in, the signage is upgraded…

James West:    It’s a proximity thing.

Bruce Linton:  It’s good, I like it.

James West:    It is, it is.

Bruce Linton:  Fancy microphones.

James West:    Yeah. We’re making movies now. [laughter]

Bruce Linton:  Wow. You’re presenting your business plan, which was, “I’m going to get a lot of content and I’m going to spend a lot of money doing it, and then I don’t know what happens next,”, you seem to have made an evolution off of that.

James West:    Right. Well, actually, you didn’t read to the end of the business plan.

Bruce Linton:  Do you remember that in my lobby?

James West:    Yeah.

Bruce Linton:  So this is a good business plan, except it’s missing the business part. It’s more like a content part.

James West:    I actually did write this business plan back in 2012, and we are execu

Aphria Inc (TSE:APH) (OTCMKTS:APHQF) (FRA:10E) CEO Vic Neufeld discusses Aphria’s strong quarter and its global reach. Neufeld explains the importance of emerging medical cannabis markets in Germany and the impact of the US Senate’s approval of the 2018 Farm Bill to legalize hemp.  The pair discuss the significance of the South American market emphasizing Aphria’s control of all three THC medical licenses in Argentina and what the company’s plans are for Brazil. Neufeld outlines Aphria’s 2019 Canadian production targets which include producing 20,000 kilos per month between Aphria One, Aphria Diamond, and Broken Coast, by late spring.

James West:   Hey there, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is somebody who’s been here a couple of times before: you might recognize Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria. Vic, thanks for joining me again today.

Vic Neufeld:  And thanks for having me again. Thank you.

VIVO Cannabis (CVE:VIVO) (OTCQB:ABCCF) CEO Barry Fishman visits James West in the Midas Letter studio to discuss the company’s rebranding from ABcann Global to VIVO Cannabis. The rebranding consists of a new medical brand, Beacon Medical and two adult-focused recreational brands: Fireside, a social brand, and Lumina, a wellness brand. Fishman outlines how VIVO’s potential acquisition of Canna Farms, based in British Columbia, triples VIVO’s capacity and patient count. The pair discusses how the deal has positively impacted VIVO’s stocks in relation to the general trend in the cannabis sector and its role as a provincial supplier of cannabis.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is none other than Barry Fishman. He’s the CEO of VIVO Cannabis. If you don’t recognize the name, there’s a reason for that. The symbol is VIVO on the TSX Venture. Barry, thanks for joining me again.

Barry Fishman: Nice to be here.

James West:   Okay, now, VIVO Cannabis is a new company, isn’t it?

Barry Fishman: Well, it’s pretty new! We just announced it last Friday.

James West:   Well, that’s great.

Barry Fishman: So let me tell you a little bit about the rationale for the change.

James West:   Okay.

Barry Fishman: We’ve had a very busy few months. We’ve changed the team, we’ve upgraded a lot of our grow technologies, we have expanded Harvest Medicine, our medical clinic. We’ve rolled out new recreational and medical brands, and we thought it was time to revitalize the company and call it a different name. Abcann didn’t mean anything; VIVO means living, it means alive, it’s a very positive connotation. So we’re excited for the future, and we’ve renamed the company Abcann with a ticker symbol VIVO.

James West:   I love the name.

Barry Fishman: Thank you.

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Hyperion Exchange CEO Mike Zavet discusses the company’s plans to list securities or STOs (Security Token Offering) on the Blockchain. The pair discuss the possibility of STOs one day replacing IPOs. Zavet states that Hyperion might become a public entity and that the company is hoping to go live in approximately 100 days. Zavat sees the potential for cryptocurrencies to “break down border and geographical limitations.” Zavat addresses the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and stresses stability is entering the space.

James West:   We’ve got Mike Zavet. He’s the CEO of Hyperion Exchange, a new crypto exchange that is part of the new crypto economy, and he’s one of the most knowledgeable guys in the space.

Also, we’re going to wrap up the market with Stevie Misener, formerly one of Canada’s best known small-cap fund managers. He’s probably one of the most colourful characters in the Bay Street mix; he’ll join us about halfway through the show. And then, at 4:20, we’ll have Alan Brockstein, who was the first chartered financial analyst to cover the cannabis space in the United States. He’ll be here at 4:20 Eastern – that is guaranteed to be an extremely enlightening conversation.

Right now, I’m joined with Mike Zavet, CEO of Hyperion. Mike, thanks for joining me.

Michael Zavet: Thank you for having me on the show.

James West:   Well Mike, let’s talk about Hyperion a bit. What exactly is the exchange all about?

Michael Zavet: So Hyperion is a very unique exchange offering in that it’s not only classical utilities cryptocurrency exchange; it actually is a hybridized exchange that includes the plan to list securities on the Blockchain. This is a space that’s been evolving over the last few months, or even years, but more so it’s accelerated now that the SEC has begun to take steps to recognize securities and securities on the Blockchain – in other words, digital securities.

James West:   So are you securitizing, like, fractionalizing securities?

Michael Zavet: Well, what we’re actually doing is hosting a security token. So there are a number of companies now that are beginning to do issuance for securities, and what they’re doing is, instead of doing what classically is a note, like, you know, paper securities, they are doing a digital security. And this is much like equities or, possibly, revenue streams or other financial products, except –

James West:   An ICO?

Michael Zavet: They are ICOs, but they’re security ICOs. So we like to call them STOs, and perhaps that name will evolve as well.

James West:   Okay, great. That’s all we need, is another anagram.

Michael Zavet: That’s right.

James West:   And so STO: Securitized, Security Token –

Michael Zavet: Offering, that’s right.

James West:   Offering, okay. So how does that comply with securities laws currently?

Michael Zavet: So there are a number of ways of going about an STO, but essentially what we’re looking to do is work with the regulators to find a way to be completely compliant while still offering these new and unique vehicles. So we’re seeing is, in the States

Hill Street Beverage Company (CVE:BEER) CEO Terry Donnelly discusses the organization’s status as the most awarded alcohol-free beer and wine company in the world. According to the US government, 44 percent of North America’s population take prescription drug medication that is contraindicated to alcohol; however, there are no medications that are contraindicated to cannabis. Consequently, Hill Street “decided to take that platform of great tasting, award-winning products and evolve it for the new cannabis-infused beverage marketplace.” Donnelly and West sample Hill Street products including a rosé, a Chardonnay, a pilsner, and a Merlot. The pair discuss Hill Street’s partnership with Lexaria Bioscience Corp (CNSX:LXX) (OTCQX:LXRP) to deliver cannabis-infused beverages with zero impact on the odour and taste.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is Terry Donnelly; he is the CEO of Hill Street Beverage Company, trading on the TSX Venture under the – oh, I love that symbol – BEER.

Terry Donnelly:    Absolutely.

J

PI Financial Special Situations Equity Analyst Jason Zandberg reiterates an Aurora Cannabis Inc (TSE:ACB) (OTCMKTS:ACBFF) (FRA:21P) buy rating of $13 per share. Aurora’s numerous acquisitions, most notably MedReleaf Corp (TSE:LEAF), their critical mass of production, and sales growth are all catalysts for their future valuation. The CFA believes “its a great time to be buying Aurora in this dip” as the company is nearing a mass inflection point of support in their share price.

James West:       Hey welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is Jason Zandburg. He is the special Situations Analyst at PI Financial Corp covering small cap growth companies. Jason welcome to the show.

Jason Zandberg, CFA:         Thanks for having me.

James West:       Jason you recently initiated, or not initiated, but rather reiterated a buy rating for Aurora Cannabis Corp for $13 a share. Recently, it’s touched a low of $5.60 and I’m curious to hear if you still stand by that s

RISE Life Science Corp (CNSX:RLSC) (OTCMKTS:MCUIF) (FRA:L02) CEO Anton Mattadeen joins James West to talk about RISE’s target: consumer products.  Mattadeen suggests that with the current industry focus on cultivation, there exists “a brilliant opportunity to actually create a strong brand.” They discuss RISE’s recent deal to acquire California-based companies Cultivate Kind and Life Bloom Organics and how these purchases fit the company’s consumer products target. Mattadeen highlights that Life Bloom Organics’ line of nanoemulsified health and wellness solutions compliment RISE’s existing line of sexual enhancement and arousal products.

James West:   Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is Anton Mattadeen. He is the CEO of RISE Life Science Corp., trading on the CSE under the symbol RLSC. Anton, welcome to the show.

Anton Mattadeen:   Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.

James West:   Yeah. Let’s talk about RISE. I’ve been sort of watching this thing peripherally with one eye, and it kind of, you know, wasn’t right up in my wheelhouse so I didn’t jump in on it, but what is the raison d’etre for RISE?

Anton Mattadeen:   Well, our target is consumer products. You know, we’ve taken a look at the entire market space; we see a lot of movement

Aurora Cannabis Inc (TSE:ACB) (OTCMKTS:ACBFF) (FRA:21P) CCO Cam Battley “strongly believes that the global cannabis sector will be larger than the global brewing sector, and potentially significantly larger”. Aurora have three dealer licenses at three different locations: Aurora Mountain, CanniMed, and Anandia Labs in which they will develop new product lines for all segments of the market.

James West:    Hey, welcome to Midas Letter Live. My guest in this segment is none other than Cam Battley, Chief Corporate Officer for Aurora Cannabis Inc. Cam, welcome back.

Cam Battley:   Nice to see you, James.

James West:    Cam, if Federal prohibition was to end in the United States for cannabis, would Aurora take a more active control over its US assets over Australis? Is that built into the whole pie, here?

Cam Battley:   So that’s the second part of it, right? We have this built-in back in right. So if at any time in the next 10 years, the US Federal landscape changes, cannabis is no longer a Schedule 1 drug, it becomes effectively federally legal on a medical basis to start with, then yes. We are able to come back in through that back in right, and participate with Australis and bring that back into the Aurora family.

James West:    Okay. And Australis itself will go public at some point in the very near future?

Cam Battley:</

Aphria Inc (TSE:APH) (OTCMKTS:APHQF) (FRA:10E) CEO Vic Neufeld provides his opinion on the recent Molson Coors Canada, the Canadian business unit of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) (TSE:TPX), joint venture deal with Hydropothecary Corp (TSE:HEXO) (OTCMKTS:HYYDF) (FRA:74H). The CEO believes “the concept was not as transformational as was thought” and other beverage spaces have greater opportunities for market penetration.

James West:    Hey, welcome to Midas Letter Live for this Wednesday, August 1st. I’m a little bit slow today, don’t mind me; probably one glass of Malbec too many at lunch. Anyways, my first guest in our first segment is going to me Mr. Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria. Vic, welcome back to the show.

Vic Neufeld:   Great being here.

iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc (CNSX:IAN) (OTCMKTS:ITHUF) (FRA:2IA) CEO Hadley Ford discusses the company’s 2018 acquisitions and criteria for entering into new USA states. iAnthus are looking to dominate all addressable markets in the United States with large populations, solid programs which allow for cannabis ingestion methods of all varieties, or full recreational markets. The CEO outlines their facility construction in New York and the timeline for recreational sales in the Empire State.

James West:    Hey, welcome back to Midas Letter Live. My guest this segment is the one and only Hadley Ford, CEO of iAnthus Capital Holdings, trading on the CSE under the symbol IAN. One of the best-performing cannabis stocks in the history of cannabis stocks. Hadley, how are you doing?

Hadley Ford:   I am doing just wonderfully.

James West:    That’s quite an intro for somebody who doesn’t even own the stock.

Hadley Ford:   That’s pretty good. You need to go out and buy some.

James West:    I know, I’m thinking, what am I…

Hadley Ford:   I notice on your opening montage it had our name, and then it had, like, negative stock price next to it. I don’t know, you guys need to change that.

James West:    What?

Hadley Ford:   I know, I sa