VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (d/b/a Wheaton Income) (TSX.V:CBW) (“Wheaton Income” or “Wheaton” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a joint venture with Peter Quiring, one of Canada’s largest greenhouse builders and operators, via a newly formed subsidiary ( “GreenhouseCo”), to develop, construct and operate a state-of-the-art purpose-built greenhouse for cannabis cultivation in Leamington, Ontario with Mr. Quiring acting as Chief Executive Officer of GreenhouseCo (collectively, the “Transaction”).

As the founder and owner of 4 vertically-integrated companies, all of which have greatly influenced the North American greenhouse ecosystem, Peter has over 25 years of experience designing, fabricating, building and operating greenhouses across North America. He has developed over 2,000 acres of greenhouses and currently owns and operates 175 acres of computer-controlled, state-of-the-art greenhouses with over 600 employees in Southern Ontario. Operating one of the largest bell pepper and tomato greenhouses in North America, he is currently growing over 15 million kilograms of peppers and 25 million kilograms of tomatoes each year that are shipped across Canada and the United States. In addition, his fabrication company South Essex Fabricating constructed the Double Diamond Farms facility which is currently being converted for cannabis cultivation.

Pursuant to the Transaction, GreenhouseCo initially plans to develop 1.4 million square feet of greenhouse (“Phase I”) on 102 acres of fully owned land located in Leamington, Ontario (the “Facility”). The Facility will be constructed by South Essex Fabricating and will be built on a fully serviced site with access to approximately 27 megawatts of electricity. The Facility will be purpose-built with state-of-the-art automation and operate under a 100% closed-loop water recycling system.

The Company estimates that the Phase I build-out will result in approximately 120,000,000 grams of cannabis per annum and believes there is further potential to increase the Facility’s output with additional technological improvements that will be adapted from Mr. Quiring’s existing greenhouses. GreenhouseCo also has the ability for additional expansion up to a total of 2.8 million square feet of greenhouse cultivation. The Company will assist GreenhouseCo in obtaining its ACMPR license for the cultivation and sale of cannabis (the “License”) through its Wheaton Licensing Program by providing GreenhouseCo with all of the resources and expertise necessary to achieve the License.

Mr. Quiring and the Company have also agreed to jointly pursue international cannabis-related greenhouse cultivation opportunities for joint development and opportunities to license GreenhouseCo’s intellectual property relating to facility design and operation know-how.

Hugo Alves, President and Director of Cannabis Wheaton, stated “This is a huge milestone for the Cannabis Wheaton story and we couldn’t be happier to pursue this venture by partnering with Peter. In getting to know Peter during this transaction it has become clear that he possesses exceptional greenhouse and operational knowledge and his track-record as one of North America’s most accomplished greenhouse builders and operators speaks for itself. We believe that our leading cannabis industry expertise and platform combined with Peter’s proven capabilities will be a recipe for success. This joint venture is another example of the quality of partners and breadth of production diversification that Cannabis Wheaton is building out for its upstream production platform. This is an exciting project both in terms of its scale and technological sophistication and we are honoured to be partnering with the best in the business to ensure that this facility becomes one of the largest and best run greenhouse cultivation facilities in the country.”

Peter Quiring, Founder and President of NatureFresh and South Essex commented, “Over the past 25 years I have had the pleasure of building four integrated companies, including NatureFresh™ Farms, and South Essex Fabricating. These four companies have been founded on driving innovation and utilizing new technology, but I have learned that empowering people and building strong relationships is the most valuable part of being a leader. Today, I am pleased to announce my new exciting joint venture with Cannabis Wheaton and have full confidence in the management and teams that we have built together within my existing companies. I know that these teams will continue to perform beyond my expectations and serve our community and customers with the same exceptional quality. I look forward to bringing my experience and values to this new partnership with Chuck, Hugo and their team at Cannabis Wheaton.”

The Transaction remains subject to certain conditions precedent including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the execution of a definitive agreement which the parties expect to occur within 60 days.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Chuck RificiChairman & CEO

About Wheaton Income. (TSX.V:CBW)

Wheaton Income is a collective of entrepreneurs with a passion for the cannabis industry past, present and future. Our mandate is to facilitate growth for our partners by providing them with financial support and sharing our collective industry experience. Our partners all have different visions, voices and brand values, and all share a common goal—to build a world-class industry based on ethics, diversity, quality and innovation.

Stay Connected:

For more information about investing in Cannabis Wheaton, please visit: http://www.wheatonincome.com
or contact our investor relations team at: 800.980.1314 or [email protected]. Follow up on Twitter @WheatonIncome.

Media Contact:
Sarah Bain, VP External Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 613.230.5869

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “continue”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “potential”, “proposed” and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. This information is only a prediction. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking information throughout this news release. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to: the ability to consummate transactions which are currently in discussions, the Company’s ability to obtain the License, the Company’s ability to obtain a sales authorization for the License and the related timing considerations, the Company’s ability to generate revenue through the streaming agreements, requirements to obtain additional financing, timeliness of government approvals for granting of permits and licenses, including licenses to cultivate and sell cannabis, completion of the facilities, where applicable, actual operating performance of the facilities, regulatory or political change, competition and other risks affecting the Company in particular and the cannabis industry generally. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. The Company is not under any obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.