NEW YORK, Dec. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acreage Holdings, Inc. (“Acreage” or the “Company”) (CSE:ACRG.A.U, ACRG.B.U), (OTCQX: ACRHF, ACRDF) today announced it has entered into a construction financing loan with The Pelorus Fund, a cannabis-focused real estate investment trust, which will be used to complete the expansion of its Illinois cultivation and processing facility, which is expected to close on or about December 3^rd, 2020.

The loan provides for a principal amount of approximately $12 million at an annual interest rate of 16% over a term of 18 months. The proceeds will be used to fully build out the existing 80,000 square foot cultivation and processing facility. Construction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, and will increase Acreage’s capabilities to sell more of its own product through its dispensaries as well as through wholesale channels; The Company expects such an increase in its capabilities to lead to improved financial performance in the state. The Illinois facility will produce dried flower and oil extract products as well as THC-infused beverages utilizing intellectual property licensed from Canopy Growth Corporation. As previously announced, Acreage anticipates launching Canopy Growth’s select, sessionable THC beverage formulations in Illinois and California in the summer of 2021.

ABOUT ACREAGE

Headquartered in New York City, Acreage is a multi-state operator of cannabis ‎cultivation and retailing facilities in the U.S., including the company’s national retail store ‎brand, The Botanist. Acreage’s wide range of national and regionally available cannabis products include the award-winning Botanist brand, the highly recognizable Tweed brand, the Prime medical brand in Pennsylvania, the Innocent edibles brand in Illinois and others. Acreage also owns Universal Hemp, LLC, a hemp subsidiary dedicated to the distribution, marketing and sale of CBD products throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 2011, Acreage has focused on building and scaling operations to create a ‎seamless, consumer-focused, branded experience. More information is available at www.acreageholdings.com.

On June 27, 2019, Acreage implemented an arrangement under section 288 of the Business Corporations ‎Act (British Columbia) with Canopy Growth Corporation (“Canopy Growth”), which was subsequently amended on September 23, 2020 (the “Amended Arrangement”)‎. Pursuant to the Amended Arrangement, ‎upon ‎the occurrence (or waiver by Canopy Growth) of changes in federal laws in the United States to permit the general cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana (as defined in the relevant legislation) or to remove the regulation of such activities from the federal laws of the United States (the “Triggering Event”), Canopy Growth will, subject to the ‎satisfaction or waiver of certain closing conditions, acquire ‎all of the issued and outstanding Class E subordinate voting shares (the “Fixed Shares”) on the basis of 0.3048 of a Canopy Growth share per ‎Fixed Share (following the automatic conversion of the Class F multiple voting shares and subject to adjustment ‎in accordance with the terms of the arrangement agreement entered into between Acreage and Canopy Growth on April 18, 2019, as amended on May 15, 2019 and on September 23, 2020.

In addition, Canopy Growth holds an option, exercisable at the discretion of Canopy Growth, to acquire all of the ‎issued and outstanding Class D subordinate voting shares (the “Floating Shares”) at the time that Canopy Growth acquires the Fixed Shares, for ‎cash or Canopy Growth shares, as Canopy Growth may determine, at a price per Floating Share based ‎upon the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of the Floating Shares on the CSE relative to the trading price of the Canopy Growth shares at the time of the ‎occurrence or waiver of the Triggering Event, subject to a minimum price of US$6.41 per Floating Share.

For more information about the Amended Arrangement, please see the Acreage proxy statement and management information circular dated August 17, 2020 (the “Circular”) and the respective ‎information circulars of each of Acreage and Canopy Growth dated May 17, 2019, which are available on ‎Acreage’s and Canopy Growth’s respective profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and filed with the SEC on the EDGAR website at www.sec.gov. For additional information regarding ‎Canopy Growth, please see Canopy Growth’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release and each of the documents referred to herein contains “forward-looking information” and ‎‎“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, ‎respectively. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking ‎information, including, for greater certainty, statements regarding the terms and intended use of proceeds of the loan, the Amended Arrangement, including the likelihood of completion thereof, the ‎occurrence or waiver of the Triggering Event, the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions set out in the‎ Arrangement Agreement and other statements with respect to the proposed transactions with Canopy Growth. ‎Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as ‎‎“plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, ‎or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, ‎‎‎“would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. ‎

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other ‎factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Acreage or its ‎subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or ‎implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking ‎information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ ‎materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, but not ‎limited to financing and liquidity risks, and the risks disclosed in the Circular, Acreage’s ‎management information circular dated May 17, 2019 filed on May 23, 2019, Acreage’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended ‎December 31, 2019 ‎dated May 29, 2020 and the amendment thereto on Form 10-K/A ‎dated August 14, 2020, and Acreage’s other public filings, in each case filed with the SEC on the EDGAR website at www.sec.gov and with ‎Canadian securities regulators ‎and available on the issuer profile of Acreage on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Acreage has attempted to identify ‎important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking ‎information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. ‎

Although Acreage believes that the ‎assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking ‎statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information ‎and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The ‎forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of ‎the date of this news release and Acreage does not undertake any obligation to publicly update such ‎forward-looking information or forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events ‎or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider has reviewed and does not accept ‎responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.‎

Media Contact:	Investor Contact:
Howard Schacter Vice President of Communications h.schacter@acreageholdings.com 917-893-5300	Steve West Vice President, Investor Relations Investors@acreageholdings.com 917-893-5300