Recent Developments
Global COVID-19 Pandemic
For the three months ended December 31, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic did not materially disrupt the Company’s business, financial condition, or results of operations. As at the date of this Prospectus, the production and sale of medical and consumer cannabis have been recognized as essential services across Canada and Europe. All of the Company’s facilities in Canada and internationally continue to be operational and we continue to work closely with local, national and international government authorities to ensure that we are following the required protocols and guidelines related to COVID-19 within each region. Although there have not been any significant impacts to the Company’s operations to date, the Company cannot provide assurance that there will not be disruptions to its operations in the future. Refer to the “Risk Factors” section in the 2020 Annual MD&A for further discussion on the potential impacts of COVID-19.
November 2020 Offering
On November 16, 2020 the Company completed an overnight marketed public offering of units for total gross proceeds of U.S.$172,500,000. The Company issued a total of 23,000,000 units. Each unit consisted of one Common Share and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable for a period of 40 months and entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of U.S.$9.00 per common share.
Amendment to Credit Facility
On December 17, 2020, the Company entered into the Second Amended Credit Agreement with a Canadian chartered bank, as administrative agent, lead arranger and sole bookrunner and certain lenders party thereto from time to time (collectively, the “Lenders”). The Second Amended Credit Agreement replaced the Amended and Restated Credit Facility dated September 4, 2020, as amended. No changes were made to the commitment amounts under the facility, and the maturity date for the facility was extended to December 31, 2022. The Second Amended Credit Agreement provides for a minimum liquidity covenant rather than the minimum EBITDA covenants provided for under the prior facility.
The milestone targets for each quarter ending December 31, 2020 through June 30, 2021, the adjusted EBITDA covenant for the trailing 12-month period ending June 30, 2021, and the maximum senior funded debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio covenant were removed in the Second Amended Credit Agreement. The Company agreed to: (A) increase the amount of unrestricted cash it will hold at all times to an amount equal to the lesser of (i) $75 million and (ii) two hundred and twenty-five percent of the outstanding principal amount under the term loan less the cash collateral posted by the Company, (B) introduce additional cash collateral of $50 million and (C) amend the amortization schedule to provide for principal payments of $6.25 million each fiscal quarter until maturity. There are no changes to the commitment amounts under the facility which currently stand at $101.2 million under the term loan and $15 million under the revolver (currently $2 million drawn). The Second Amended Credit Agreement has a first ranking general security interest in the assets of the Company and can be repaid without penalty at the Company’s discretion. In addition, the amended credit facility relieves the Company of the obligation to repay the credit facility with funds generated from future equity issuances.
The Second Amended Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default. In addition, the Second Amended Credit Agreement contains a negative covenant which restricts the Company from making or acquiring any Investments that, among other things, do not satisfy the definition of a Permitted Acquisition, as such terms are defined in the Second Amended Credit Agreement.
Effect of Reduction of Operations on Financial Results
In November 2020, the Company formally terminated construction activity and closed its Aurora Sun facility, and in December 2020 the Company reduced production at its Aurora Sky facility by 75%, consistent with previous public statements by the Company about aligning production to current demand. Aurora Sky is currently testing new processes and methodologies proven successful at other cultivation sites in Aurora’s network, with an increased focus on innovation led by deep plant science and genetics expertise. These decisions are designed to improve Aurora’s product quality, innovation and agility and improve working capital cycles to drive positive operating cash flow. In connection with these strategic decisions, the Company expects to record non-cash impairment charges for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, which impairment charges are likely to be significant.
As previously disclosed, the Company does not expect to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in the quarter as additional time is required to fully implement key elements of its “back to basics” regulated consumer packaged goods strategy. Furthermore, the unpredictability of the current demand environment and the resurgence of COVID-19 which has impacted consumer access to in-store purchases at cannabis retail locations in key provinces, may further impact current results. In late December 2020 and early in 2021, the Company also enacted a number of proactive measures to improve sales velocity in the Canadian consumer market, including C$2 to C$3 million of a company-initiated planned return of lower-potency products from provincial distributors to make room for higher potency quality products now available due to the Company’s focus on premiumization. Management expects that these decisions may have a short term impact on the Company’s results but will positively impact sales velocity in the near term. The Company is no longer required to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in the quarter under the terms of its amended credit facility which provides greater operational flexibility to execute a sustainable profitability model, and may not achieve adjusted EBITDA improvement relative to the quarter ended September 30, 2020 for the reasons set forth above.
Cybersecurity Incident
On December 25, 2020, the Company experienced a cybersecurity incident during which unauthorized parties accessed certain internal human resources data stored on third-party cloud software. The Company immediately took steps to mitigate the incident and the Company’s existing systems prevented material harm to the business and operations. The Company is actively consulting with security experts; its patient systems were not compromised, and the Company’s network of operations was not affected. While the Company is seeking to improve its data security and related systems and processes, it may be subject to similar attacks in the future, and its data protections may not be effective due to the evolving nature of these threats.
USE OF PROCEEDS
The net proceeds to be received by the Company from the sale of the Offered Units, after deducting the Underwriters’ Fee and expenses of the Offering, will be approximately U.S.$ [●] million (U.S.$ [●] million if the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full).
We intend to use the net proceeds from the Offering (including any funds received from exercise of the Over-Allotment Option) for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include opportunistically reducing debt.
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