UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 6-K

 

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER 

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of May 2022

 

Commission File Number: 001-41324

 

 

AKANDA CORP. 

(Registrant’s Name)

 

 

1a, 1b Learoyd Road 

New Romney TN28 8XU, United Kingdom 

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

Form 20-F x            Form 40-F ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):  ¨

 

 

 

 

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT

 

Closing of Acquisition of Ordinary Shares of Holigen Limited

 

On May 1, 2022, Akanda Corp. (“Akanda”), Cannahealth Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Akanda, completed its acquisition of 100% of the ordinary shares of Holigen Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Flowr Corporation, and the holding company of RPK Biopharma, Unipessoal, LDA (the “Acquisition”). The Acquisition was completed pursuant to the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement filed as Exhibit 2.1 to Akanda’s Current Report on Form 6-K dated April 27, 2022.

 

A press release announcing the closing of the transaction is filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto. The press release furnished in this report as Exhibit 99.1 shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section.

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

   
99.1   Akanda Completes Acquisition of Holigen, Advancing Cannabis Leadership Position in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

  AKANDA CORP. 
           
  By   :  

/s/ Tejinder Virk

  Name     :     Tejinder Virk
  Title   :   Chief Executive Officer and Director

 

Date: May 2, 2022

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

Akanda Completes Acquisition of Holigen, Advancing Cannabis Leadership Position in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

 

Adds prized cultivation, manufacturing and distribution assets and an award-winning genetics library, accelerating Akanda’s seed-to-patient model

 

London, May 2, 2022: International medical cannabis company Akanda Corp. (“Akanda” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AKAN) today announced it has closed the acquisition of Holigen Limited (“Holigen”) from The Flowr Corporation (“Flowr”) (TSXV: FLWR, OTC: FLWPF), accelerating 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.

 

“Holigen provides the added superior genetics, capacity, and route-to-market Akanda needs to ensure that we capture more than our share of the rapidly emerging cannabis market across the EMEA region,” said Tej Virk, Chief Executive Officer of Akanda. “Together with Holigen, we are positioned to be a leader in today’s medical cannabis environment and to have the ability to scale to the recreational opportunity as it unfolds. Now that the acquisition has closed, I look forward with to working with Tom Flow and his team to leverage the platforms of both companies.”

 

Under terms of the agreement, Akanda acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Holigen for a combination of approximately US$3.0 million in cash (C$3.75 million), 1.9 million Akanda common shares, and the assumption at RPK of approximately US$4.3 million (€4.0 million) of debt which is non-recourse to Akanda. In addition, to further align Akanda and Flowr, concurrently with the closing of the acquisition, Akanda purchased 14,285,714 Flowr common shares for aggregate gross proceeds to Flowr of approximately US$790,000 (C$1.0 million) at a price per share of C$0.07. Akanda has provided at least US$678,000 of interim funding to Holigen to support its working capital needs prior to closing.

 

About Akanda Corp.

 

Akanda is an international medical cannabis and wellness platform company seeking to help people lead better lives through improved access to high quality and affordable products. Akanda’s portfolio includes Bophelo Bioscience & Wellness, a GACP qualified cultivation campus in the Kingdom of Lesotho in Southern Africa; Holigen, a Portugal-based cultivator, manufacturer and distributor with a prized EU GMP certified indoor grow facility; and CanMart, a UK-based fully licensed pharmaceutical importer and distributor which supplies pharmacies and clinics within the UK. The Company’s seed-to-patient supply chain also includes partnerships with Cellen Life Sciences’ Leva Clinic, one of the first fully digital pain clinics in the UK, and Cantourage, which operates a platform for bringing medical cannabis to Europe.

 

Connect with Akanda: Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram 

 

Investor Contact 

Matt Chesler, CFA 

FNK IR 

ir@akandacorp.com

 

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Media Contacts

 

United States: 

Annie Grant 

Allison + Partners 

akanda@allisonpr.com

 

Europe: 

Imogen Saunders 

Irvine Partners 

imogen@irvinepartners.co.uk

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

 

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Akanda's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Akanda's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited to business strategy, product development, manufacturing plans, regulatory landscape, potential acquisitions and synergies, integration plans and sales and growth plans. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Akanda does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

 

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