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Louis Kyron: CCIM
Ben Ward: MARI
CSE:MARI; OTCQB:MRRCF; FRA:75M
CCIM: Thank you for the candid response – our readers may find it interesting that a popular commentator was quite critical about that windstorm disclosure – the share price of MARI rose from $1.21 to $1.72 in just the few weeks following those comments – remember, they are there to sell air time and space and sensational headlines and statements are often used. Turning our eyes internationally, what is MARI’s presence in Germany and are there any updates with respect to MARI’s option to purchase the Ebersbach facility … and for our readers, can you first quickly explain what that facility is?
MARI: The Ebersbach facility (West of Dresden), is a former Cargill plant constructed 20 years ago at a cost of 80 million EUR at that time. The facility is comprised of multiple individual clean rooms that are ideal for cultivation of cannabis. “The Ebersbach facility offers Maricann a significant advantage in cost of overall construction and speed to market. The infrastructure for cultivation of cannabis in an indoor secured environment is already in place. We simply need to add the fertigation system, lights and benches for growing, and then can be operational. Our competitors are spending north of $70,000,000 CAD for facilities with less than 1/3 the footprint of our Ebersbach location. To construct a similar facility today, the estimated cost would be over 120 million EUR. Maricann entered into a reservation agreement to purchase the facility for a total price of 3,410,000 EUR at closing,” said Benjamin Ward, CEO. aricann has no exposure to the USA through its operations. Maricann only participates in the USA capital markets.
CCIM: Before I let you go, just a few more questions and lets come back to Canada …. What is the significance of the agreement reached with what your news release referred to as a “national provider that services pharmacies”?
MARI: The joint initiative will aim to position pharmacies to be the preferred access point for medicinal cannabis based on pharmacists' critical role in working with physicians and patients in understanding the multi-synchronistic opportunities in multi-medication patients. Maricann and the Counterparty will work together to assist patients in achieving their desired therapeutic goals while always keeping their safety paramount.