A court-appointed monitor of Trees Corporation, which operates a chain of 10 cannabis stores in BC and Ontario, is conducting a sale and investment solicitation process for the cannabis company.
FTI Consulting Canada Inc. is undertaking the process on behalf of Trees Corporation, Ontario Cannabis Holdings Corp., Miraculo Inc., 2707461 Ontario Ltd., OCH Ontario Consulting Corp., and 11819496 Canada Inc. (collectively, “Trees” or the “Companies”) in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, as amended.
In December 2023, Trees announced that it and its subsidiaries would be filing for creditor protection under the CCAA. The group had been seeking additional financing to keep it operating. On December 22, 2023, Trees was granted creditor protection.
The company lists among its assets, in addition to its ten locations, an established loyalty program and a “long-standing and respected cannabis heritage originating on Vancouver Island.”
On January 2, 2024, the applicants received an extension for their proceedings until February 29, 2024. Then, following orders granted by the court on January 29, 2024, FTI Consulting Canada and Trees started the sale and investment solicitation process (SISP), and a transaction agreement was approved to serve as the “stalking horse bid” in the SISP. A Stay of Proceedings was then extended to April 12, 2024.
Those who wish to submit a bid in the SISP must deliver a non-binding letter of interest to the Monitor and Trees, together with the other materials and information required under the SISP, by no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on February 29, 2024. Final binding offers are due in accordance with the SISP by no later than 5:00 pm (ET) on March 15, 2024, unless extended in accordance with the terms of the SISP.
Trees started as a “legacy” era medical cannabis dispensary in British Columbia before eventually transitioning to the legal market.
The former director and general manager of Trees received a fine from the BC government in 2021 of $771,557.50 for its continued operation prior to receiving a licence from the province. In the same year, workers at a Trees location joined The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) 1518’s “BC Bud Union”.
