Merger Announced with ANTG and Asterion - Developing One of the World’s Biggest Medicinal Cannabis Facilities
Australian medicinal cannabis company Australian Natural Therapeutic Group has just announced a merger with Canadian Asterion Cannabis Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Asterion (Australia), with the companies joining to develop one of the largest renewable-powered medicinal cannabis growing, manufacturing and R&D facilities in the world.
Construction on the $400 million facility in the Darling Downs, near Toowoomba, is scheduled to begin in the next few months - with the 75 hectare facility set to produce more than 500,000 kg of medicinal cannabis a year and create some 1000 regional jobs.
Matt Cantelo, CEO of Australian Natural Therapeutic Group (ANTG) said the agreement represents a golden opportunity for Australia to reach its full potential in growing and cultivating medicinal cannabis and serving the domestic and export markets.
“We see Australia becoming the global leader in medicinal cannabis production,” says Mr Cantelo, who earlier this year signed a $92 million, nine-year deal with German company Cannamedical Pharma to export commercially-grown Australian medical cannabis flowers to Europe.
“We have the gold standard in regulatory framework, depth of research and climate for growing excellent produce - but what we haven’t had to date is the option of scale.”
“Once we get the scale we need, we will be working to ensure medicinal cannabis is more accessible to Australians.”
“This has meant we could mostly meet the demand to the general market, but in the coming years we see demand will absolutely outstrip supply.”
“Through this new partnership we will be able to expand our range to meet the growing number of conditions being prescribed by doctors.”
Stephen Van Deventer, CEO of Asterion commented, “the merger of Asterion and ANTG fits in with both companies' short and long term strategies. This provides early revenue for Asterion and scalability to ANTG. We are extremely excited with this merger as both companies have the same vision, priorities and mindset”.
The project is also set to create some 1000 jobs in the region, with highly trained and trainable potential employees familiar with the agricultural and horticultural sector in the area.
The first 10ha glasshouse and manufacturing facility is due to be up and running by the end of next year, with phase two another 10ha glasshouse, and phase three after that an additional 20ha one.
Well-situated in close proximity to Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport, the facility will have easy access to international routes and markets.
A partially binding agreement-Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed by both parties.
About Australian Natural Therapeutics Group
Formed in 2015, ANTG came about following personal experiences of the founder and CEO. It now produces four strains of medicinal cannabis flower, and is about to start production of four oil combinations. It also partners with research organisations including CSIRO, University of Newcastle and University of Western Sydney, to unlock the potential of cannabis in the fight against cancer, dementia and inflammation. https://australiannatural.com
About Asterion
Asterion is a Canadian medicinal cannabis company with a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, Asterion (Australia) Pty Ltd. With its cultivation to market strategy, the Company’s focus is on leading and advancing cannabis agriculture, producing high quality, low cost, genetically uniform cannabis strains and cannabinoid products for global supply. The Australian government awarded the Company’s medicinal cannabis project with a Major Project Status. Asterion (Australia) Pty. Ltd. has been granted a medicinal cannabis license, a cannabis research license, and a manufacture license from the Australian Office of Drug Control.
Led by a highly experienced team with over 200 years of combined relevant credentials spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. Management experience with large-scale projects includes medicinal cannabis, renewable energy, and capital markets.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Stephen Van Deventer”
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please contact:
Stephen Van Deventer
+1-604-306-9669
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including, without limitation, the amount of the Financing, the intended use of proceeds of the Financing, the construction of the Queensland Facility and the Company’s anticipated business plans and its prospect of success in executing its proposed plans. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “will”, “plans”, “expects”, “may”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “proposes”, “estimates” or variations of such words including negative variations thereof and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including that market fundamentals will result in sustained demand and prices for medicinal cannabis products, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the construction of the Queensland Facility in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the construction and continued operation of the Company’s business, and the Company’s ability to comply with environmental, health and drugs laws and retain and attract qualified personnel.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, but not limited to, the inability of the Company to, among other things, secure investor interest in the financing, obtain the required approvals for the construction and operation of the Queensland Facility, and the inability of the Company to execute its proposed business plans and obtain the financing required to carry out its planned future activities. Other factors such as general economic, market or business conditions, future prices of cannabis, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for cannabis, or changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting the biotechnology or medical cannabis industry and delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals including for the Queensland Facility, may also adversely affect the future results or performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the statements, beliefs, plans, expectations, and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that those statements, beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Readers should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to other periodic reports provided by the Company from time-to-time.
Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements.