Canadian cannabis retailer Fika wins Fire & Flower auction

Canadian retail chain Fika Cannabis won an auction for insolvent retailer Fire & Flower Holdings.

Fika and Fire & Flower have undertaken a subscription agreement with a Sept. 8 closing date, subject to court approval, Fire & Flower announced in a Thursday news release.

The exact Fire & Flower assets to be acquired by Fika after the Tuesday auction were not disclosed, nor was the value of the winning bid.

Both companies are headquartered in Toronto.

Fire & Flower is a major presence on Canada’s legal cannabis retail scene, operating more than 90 stores.

In June, the money-losing retailer went into creditor protection.

Fire & Flower took a debtor-in-possession loan from its largest shareholder, convenience store and gas station operator Alimentation Couche-Tard, to fund operations during the sale process under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

The sale grew contentious as a group including Fire & Flower’s second-largest shareholder opposed Couche-Tard’s stalking-horse agreement.

However, a judge rejected that syndicate’s counterproposal in July.

Fire & Flower said Thursday it plans “to appear before the court as soon as possible to seek an order approving the transactions contemplated by the subscription agreement” with Fika.

The company also announced the resignation of John Chou as chief financial officer.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/canadian-cannabis-retailer-fika-wins-fire-flower-auction/