Modern Meat signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Brands from JDW Distributors that are Available at over 7,000 Retail Locations
Newsfile Corp.
6 min read
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2020) - Modern Meat Inc., (CSE: MEAT) ("Modern Meat") or (the "Company"), a premier plant-based food manufacturer, is pleased to announce it has signed a letter of intent to acquire brands from JDW Distributors LLC .("JDW"). The Company has been actively seeking expansion opportunities into the United States and acquiring these brands from JDW will introduce a robust sales and distribution network.
JDW has been focused on selling healthy, gourmet foods for 16 years, starting their own line of vegan brands including the popular Snacks from the Sun® Popped Potato Crisps and Sunflower Chips and Sunsations® Fruit Jellies, the last three years. JDW's focus on health and quality ingredients aligns with the philosophy of Modern Meat.
Snacks from the Sun® Popped Potato Crisps are light and airy crisps made from all-natural potatoes, whole grains and seasonings, then popped. The chips are vegan and free of gluten, cholesterol, and saturated fat. These vegan snacks come in four different flavors: sour cream and onion, sea salt & cracked pepper, barbecue, and original sea salt. The brand was born in 2019 and now sells in over 5000 stores throughout the United States and Canada, at both food and non-food retailers.
Sunsations® are fruity vegan candies that are kosher and made free of gluten, fat and peanuts. Currently, Sunsations® come in six different flavours: Blueberry, Grape, Orange, Apple, Lemon, and Cherry. These individually wrapped treats are all natural and made of soft pectin, a healthy alternative to gelatin. Sunsations® can be found in over 2,500 stores across the US and Canada, in addition Sunsations® also offers a private label product that are currently selling across North America.
"We continue to make great strides towards our growth strategy and see strong consumer demand for healthy vegan options," said Tara Haddad, CEO of Modern Meat. "This acquisition marks our entry into the US market and our first addition of a non "Modern" product. Modern Meat is a lifestyle brand encompassing more than just our core plant-based meat alternatives and we see tremendous potential to bring other premium vegan brands into the fold. We've identified business synergies with JDW which will allow us to accelerate our sales channels and propel the Company to new heights."
In connection with the transaction, Modern Meat will own the distribution rights to the Snacks from the Sun® and Sunsations® brands and plans to continue to work JDW and its team, including food scientists, to support manufacturing, distribution and future R&D developments. The total purchase price for this acquisition is $450,000 USD payable in cash. $225,000 USD is payable on closing and a further $225,000 USD is payable if certain revenue targets are met in the 12 months after closing, subject to certain claw back options.
"This acquisition provides another catalyst towards long-term shareholder value creation. As we continue to scale by acquiring these brands from JDW, we take on a collection of vegan products that have had explosive growth and proven success in a short period of time," explained Campbell Becher, Head of Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions for Modern Meat. "Adding our back end/finance capabilities we feel confident we can grow this platform significantly in the coming months. Furthermore, by adding its already robust distribution base throughout the US it gives us a great foothold into our future M&A and expansion plans."
The completion of this transaction is subject to conditions including the completion of definitive documentation, approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange and other customary conditions. There is no certainty the transaction will be completed on the terms proposed or at all. Further details will be provided in subsequent news releases.
About Modern Meat
Modern Meat is a Canadian food company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that offers a portfolio of plant-based meat products. Modern Meat recognizes the importance of providing consumers nutritious and sustainable meat alternatives without sacrificing taste. We are deliberate in choosing ingredients free of soy, gluten, nuts and GMO's. Our mission is to change the way food is produced and consumed for the benefit of people, animals and the environment by using only natural 100% plant-based ingredients.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: Modern Meat and Modern Meat's business and prospects; the Company's objectives, goals or future plans; future growth of the vegan products and the Modern Meat market share, Modern Meat sales growth, plans to increase production capacity, the completion of the transaction, future sales channels, future sales from the brands acquired, future M&A and expansion plans, and the business, operations, management and capitalization of the Company. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; local and global market and economic uncertainties arising in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic; litigation, availability of key product ingredients, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; the ability to effectively expand manufacturing and production capacity; the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to attract, maintain and expand relationships with key strategic restaurant and food service partners; our ability to predict consumer taste preferences; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of our cash to meet liquidity needs; those additional risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and other matters discussed in this news release. Accordingly, the forward-looking statements discussed in this release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of these known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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