Business
22nd Century Group Enters CBD Health and Wellness Market with Investment in Panacea Life Sciences, Inc.
Investment provides platform to commercialize 22nd Century’s unique hemp/cannabis plant lines in development and leverage strengths in consumer-packaged-goods
About this update from 22nd Century Group, Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"Investment provides platform to commercialize 22nd Century’s unique hemp/cannabis plant lines in development and leverage strengths in consumer-packaged-goods and FDA-regulatory affairs\nWilliamsville, NY, Dec. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII), a plant biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction, Very Low Nicotine Content (VLNC) tobacco and hemp/cannabis plant research, announced today the initial closing of an investment in Panacea Life Sciences, Inc. (Panacea), a rapidly-growing, vertically-integrated, consumer-facing company operating exclusively in the legal, hemp-derived, CBD product space. 22nd Century’s investments in Panacea over the next twelve to eighteen months are expected to total $24 million, in a combination of cash and 22nd Century stock in exchange for Panacea-issued debt and preferred equity. 22nd Century has also received a warrant to purchase preferred stock of Panacea, which upon full exercise will provide 22nd Century with a controlling equity position in Panacea. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n “After a disciplined and thorough review of the opportunities available to 22nd Century to maximize shareholder value creation, we are pleased to announce the Company’s first investment in the legal, hemp/cannabis, consumer packaged goods space,” said Cliff Fleet, President and Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group. “This investment is a major milestone in 22nd Century’s on-going execution of our hemp/cannabis strategic growth plan and offers the opportunity for strong projected shareholder returns. “Our objective is to build a leading, profitable business in the fast-growing, emerging, legal hemp/cannabis space, and Panacea is a rapidly-growing, vertically-integrated, consumer-facing business with a very strong management team. We plan for Panacea to be a platform operating company in the hemp/cannabis space that is able to leverage our leadership in cannabis-plant research, our comprehensive expertise in FDA-regulated spaces, and our leadership team’s deep experience in consumer packaged goods,” Fleet explained. “We are pleased to enter into this long-term strategic partnership with 22nd Century,” said Leslie Buttorff, Chief Executive Officer of Panacea Life Sciences, Inc. “With a strong team and seed-to-sale operations ...