Village Farms International acquires remaining equity stake in Leli Holland

– Village Farms now owns 100% of Leli Holland, one of 10 licensed producers in the Dutch hemp program –

– The company recently completed construction of its cultivation facility in Drachten –

– Leli expects to start cultivation in October, after final inspections have been carried out –

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VFF) announced today that it has acquired the remaining equity interest in Leli Holland, B.V. (“Leli”). This transaction increases Village Farms’ equity interest in Leli from 85 percent to 100 percent.

“We are excited to complete this transaction because we believe the Dutch market represents one of the most attractive opportunities for licensed cannabis in the world,” said Michael DeGiglio, President and CEO of Village Farms International. “After decades of tolerating the unintended consequences of backdoor decriminalization policies, the new Dutch program represents a historic evolution of the law, making it the first major European country to allow legal recreational cannabis operations. We are very impressed with the thoughtful implementation of this program by the Dutch government and commend them for the excellent work they have done to ensure a successful launch.”

The company also announced that it has completed construction of its cultivation facility in the city of Drachten. The Drachten facility is an indoor facility with five flower rooms and additional space for drying, producing and packaging finished products for distribution to approximately 80 Dutch coffee shops in participating jurisdictions. Leli expects to begin cultivation in October, pending final regulatory inspections, with first sales expected in the first quarter of 2025.

Leli Holland and Village Farms subsidiary Pure Sunfarms CEO Orville Bovenschen added, “Our entry into the Dutch market marks a homecoming for our organization, given that much of our growing expertise is rooted in Dutch techniques. Village Farms has been operating highly advanced, large-scale greenhouse operations in North America for over 35 years, but our first growers were Dutch immigrants who moved to Canada and the U.S. at a time when greenhouse growing was a new concept. We are proud of our Dutch heritage and our participation in this program, and as a native of the Netherlands, I am especially excited to introduce Dutch consumers to our high standards of quality that have helped our company build one of the most popular portfolios of cannabis and flower brands in Canada.”

Mr. DeGiglio concluded, “Today’s announcements from Leli Holland reflect our organization’s commitment to pursuing compelling, high-return expansion opportunities. We are focused on leveraging our position as a leading Canadian licensed EU-GMP certified producer to expand our medical operations internationally, and we also look forward to additional opportunities to expand in the recreational market as policymakers continue to embrace the many benefits of regulated cannabis.”

About Village Farms International

Village Farms draws on decades of experience as a large, controlled-environment, vertically integrated supplier of high-quality, high-growth plant-based consumer products. The company has an established position as a leading supplier of fresh produce to grocery and big-box retailers in the United States and Canada, as well as new, high-growth opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in North America, the Netherlands, and select international markets.

In Canada, the company’s wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the world’s largest hemp companies, the lowest cost greenhouse producer and one of the best-selling brands in Canada. The company also owns an 80% stake in Quebec-based Rose LifeScience, a leading third-party expert in the commercialization of hemp products in Quebec.

In the United States, wholly owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the leading CBD brands and e-commerce platforms in the country. Subject to compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state regulations and exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the U.S. high-THC hemp market through multiple strategies, leveraging one of the largest greenhouse facilities in the country (over 5.5 million square feet in West Texas) as well as operational and product expertise gained from Pure Sunfarms’ success with hemp in Canada.

Internationally, Village Farms is focused on select new legal cannabis and CBD opportunities that demonstrate significant medium to long-term potential, with an initial focus on the Asia Pacific and Europe regions.

Warning regarding forward-looking information

In this press release, the terms “Village Farms,” “Village Farms International,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar references refer to Village Farms International, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries, and the term “Common Shares” refers to our common shares, without par value. Our financial information is presented in U.S. dollars, and all references in this press release to “$” refer to U.S. dollars and all references to “C$” refer to Canadian dollars.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This press release also contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. We refer to such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information collectively as “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements may relate to the Company’s future prospects or financial condition and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the Company’s financial condition, business strategy, budgets, expansion plans, litigation, anticipated production, anticipated costs, capital expenditures, financial results, taxes, plans and objectives of or relating to the Company. In particular, statements regarding future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities for the Company, the greenhouse vegetable or agricultural products industry, the hemp industry and market and our energy segment are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may,” “outlook,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “would,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “attempt,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “likely,” “schedule,” “goals” or the negative or grammatical variations thereof or other similar expressions relating to matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to risks that may include, but are not limited to: our limited operating history in the hemp and cannabinoid industry, including Pure Sunfarms, Inc. (“Pure Sunfarms”), Rose LifeScience Inc. (“Rose” or “Rose LifeScience”) and Balanced Health Botanicals, LLC (“Balanced Health”); the limited operating history of the Delta RNG project in our Energy segment; the legal status of Pure Sunfarms’ and Rose’s cannabis businesses and Balanced Health’s cannabis business and the uncertainties regarding the legality and regulatory status of cannabis in the United States; risks related to the integration of Balanced Health and Rose into our consolidated operations; risks related to obtaining additional financing on acceptable terms, including our dependence on credit facilities and dilutive transactions; potential difficulties in achieving and/or maintaining profitability; product price volatility; risks inherent in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, cannabinoid and agricultural businesses; our market position and competitive position; our ability to leverage existing business relationships for future cannabis and cannabinoid businesses; the ability of Pure Sunfarms’ and Rose to cultivate and distribute cannabis in Canada; existing and new governmental regulations, including risks related to compliance with regulations and those related to obtaining and maintaining licences required under the Cannabis Act (Canada), the Criminal Code and other Acts, S.C. 2018, C. 16 (Canada) for Canadian operating facilities and changes in our regulatory requirements; legal and operational risks related to the expected conversion of our greenhouse facilities to cannabis production in Canada and the United States; risks related to federal (Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture), state and municipal laws and regulations relating to the production and commercialization of cannabis, cannabidiol-based products; retail consolidation, technological advances and other forms of competition; transportation disruptions; product liability and other potential litigation; retention of key executives; employee issues; uninsured and underinsured losses; vulnerability to rising energy costs; the effects of inflation on cultivation and transportation costs; recessionary effects on demand for our products; environmental, health and safety risks; exposure to foreign exchange rate risks; risks associated with cross-border trade; difficulties in managing our growth; constraints under our credit agreements; natural disasters; high interest rates; and tax risks.

The Company has based these forward-looking statements on factors and assumptions regarding future events and financial trends that it believes could affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that management believes are reasonable based on information currently available to management, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, that could cause the Company’s or the industry’s actual results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities in future periods to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, factors included in the Company’s filings with securities regulatory authorities, including the Company’s most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K.

When relying on forward-looking statements, the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements because forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and should not be considered as guarantees of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Information

Lawrence Chamberlain
Investor Relations
LodeRock Advisors
(416) 519-4196
[email protected]