Kaya to complete US merger by month end
Published:Wednesday | March 16, 2022 | 12:08 AM
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Medical marijuana dispenser Kaya Inc expects to merge with American weed search engine and social platform NUGL by month end, a deal that cuts a pathway for the Jamaican company into the United States market. At the close of the transaction, NUGL...
Medical marijuana dispenser Kaya Inc expects to merge with American weed search engine and social platform NUGL by month end, a deal that cuts a pathway for the Jamaican company into the United States market.
At the close of the transaction, NUGL will hold 49 per cent of the equity of the Kaya Group, and 100 per cent of the profit and losses or economic interest in the Kaya Group, based on a shareholders agreement. It will also change its name to Kaya Group LLC.
The NUGL shares to be issued to Kaya shareholders will be subject to a holding period of 12 months in line with applicable securities laws.
Subject to approval from Jamaica’s Cannabis Licensing Authority, CLA, the deal is expected close by March 30, Kaya said.
The Kaya and NUGL tie-up was first disclosed last October. NUGL in preparation for the merger raised US$20 million in the United States to be used for projects in various markets.
“The 2022 budget includes and is not limited to the USA, Jamaica, Caribbean, and Uruguay with plans to expand NUGL’s global technology and media launch as well as Kaya’s cannabis products entering the US market, débuting in California,” the company said in market filing.
NUGL runs a media platform for distribution of music, ganja news, and cannabis content that the partners will utilise, to “engage more patients” with cannabis news but also live events broadcast from Kaya locations.
Since the onset of the pandemic, herbhouses have witnessed a reduction in their core foreign customer base due to travel restrictions and reductions in purchasing power. This led to the impairment of the industry locally and in Canada and the rapid dissolution of several partnerships between Jamaican and Canadian entities. Kaya was also affected, with the company pivoting to attract more business from locals.
Kaya’s operations include a licensed farm and processing facility, three retail herbhouses, and one ganja franchise in Uruguay. The company founded by Balram Vaswani was first to market with a retail operation, having opened its first herbhouse in March 2018.