Ananda Developments Plc - Hapac update and Grant of Options
PR Newswire
London, September 18
18 September 2019
ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC
("Ananda" or the "Company")
Hapac update and Grant of Options
The Directors of Ananda are pleased to provide shareholders with the following update on the Company's activities.
HAPAC UPDATE AND INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Hapac is a dry herb medical cannabis inhalation system which was launched in various retail outlets in Italy in late 2018. Ananda is a 15% shareholder in Liberty Herbal Technologies Limited (LHT), the 100% owner of hapac.
After feedback from customers in the early months of 2019, hapac made some changes to its offering. It introduced three different herb blends to its range and made some small technical changes to the hapac vaping device in order to reduce the pressure drop experienced at inhalation. The Directors have been advised that these changes were well received, with growth in sales and the commencement of repeat sales. May and June hapac device sales were 33 and 29 respectively and sales of hapac sachets were 596 and 628 during the same period. Online sales of hapac also commenced through the website haplondon.com.
Although sales of hapac commenced in Italy at the turn of the year, hapac and similar cannabis-based products have not been on sale in Italy for the past two months, whilst a legal hearing regarding the labelling and content of some cannabis related products is conducted in the Parma Court. Hapac product has been removed from sales outlets and the warehouse as part of this wider action. LHT maintains that hapac products comply with all relevant laws in Italy and expects that sales will re-commence when the investigation and Court hearings are complete.
Notwithstanding the above, LHT believes it has achieved proof of concept of the hapac system and will now commence the launch of hapac in other international markets. This is in line with its original plans. LHT has signed an agreement with Cannabis Innovation Finder (CIF) to assess the appetite for hapac in Canada. CIF is a Toronto based business development consultancy which assists cannabis tech companies with their go-to market strategy in Canada. CIF has strong relationships with Canadian licensed producers, US multi-state operators, retailers and strategic investors. LHT has also appointed an ex-British American Tobacco executive to assess opportunities in the USA. In accordance with its agreement, LHT will receive Ananda's full legal consent before signing definitive agreements.
Further information on hapac can be found at hapac.tech.
GRANT OF OPTIONS
Dr Eli David Schmell, PhD was appointed Senior Advisor to the Board of Ananda in July 2018. Since then, he has advised on the Company's acquisition of interests in iCAN and LHT.
More recently, Dr Schmell has been integral to the conceptualisation and drafting of Ananda's Home Office application for a licence to grow >0.2% THC cannabis. His role has involved coordinating and drafting large sections of the application and his experience from the pharmaceutical world and with FDA approval processes has been invaluable in the drafting of an application that will reflect best global practice in structuring and populating a document of this nature.
In light of Dr Schmell's contribution to the Company, the Directors have approved the issue to Dr Schmell of options over 6,300,000 ordinary shares of 0.2p each in Ananda, at an exercise price of £0.0045. The options have a 5-year term.
-Ends-
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.
| ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC Chief Executive Officer Melissa Sturgess Investor Relations Jeremy Sturgess-Smith | +44 (0)7717 573 235 ir@anandadevelopments.com |
| PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMTED Corporate Finance Mark Anwyl Allie Feuerlein Corporate Broking Lucy Williams Duncan Vasey | +44 (0)20 7469 0930 |
| STANFORD CAPITAL PARTNERS LIMITED Joint Corporate Broker John Howes Patrick Claridge | +44 (0)20 3815 8880 |
| CELICOURT COMMUNICATIONS Mark Antelme Ollie Mills | +44 (0)20 7520 9266 |
About Ananda Developments PLC
Ananda Developments currently has three key areas of endeavour. They include its interest in iCAN, a global leader in medicinal cannabis research and a recognized thought leader in the space; its 15% shareholding in Liberty Herbal Technologies which is the owner of the recently launched hapac technology for the dry vaping of medicinal cannabis; and its 100% ownership of Tiamat Agriculture Limited which is pursuing a licence to grow >0.2% THC cannabis in the UK. Ananda will seek to continue to build its footprint in the nascent cannabis sector in order to participate fully as medicinal, therapeutic and wellness cannabis grow in market acceptance.
A copy of the Company's Admission Document is available at www.anandadevelopments.com/wp- content/uploads/2019/03/ANANDA-DEVELOPMENTS-Admission-Document-29.06.2018-FINAL- clean.pdf
http://www.anandadevelopments.com
| Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them. | ||
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Dr. Eli David Schmell, PhD. |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Senior Investment Adviser |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial |
| 3 | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |
| a) | Name | Ananda Developments plc |
| b) | LEI | 894500DFM8VOC5FW4X47 |
| 4 | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |
| a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Ordinary shares of 0.2p each ISIN: GB00BDQPXQ60 |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Grant of options |
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) | 6,300,000 Ordinary Shares at an exercise price of £0.0045 per share |
| d) | Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price | N/A |
| e) | Date of the transaction | 17 September 2019 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Outside a trading venue |
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
