Feronia Inc. Announces Closing of Restructuring Transaction
November 23 2020 - 8:00AM
Feronia Inc. (“Feronia” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: FRN) announces
that it has closed its previously announced third party sale and
restructuring transaction.
As previously reported, the Company initiated
debtor in possession insolvency proceedings under the Bankruptcy
and Insolvency Act (Canada)(the “BIA”) on July 23, 2020 (the “NOI
Proceedings”). Pursuant to an Order of the Supreme Court of British
Columbia in Bankruptcy and Insolvency dated September 3, 2020, the
transaction was completed pursuant to the terms of a definitive
purchase agreement with Straight KKM 2 Limited, which provided for
the acquisition by Feronia KNM of substantially all of the
Company’s assets, including its direct and indirect equity
interests in its operating subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du
Congo.
The key terms of the transaction are set forth
in the press release of the Company issued on July 20, 2020, as
updated in its press release dated September 10, 2020.
Following completion of the sale transaction,
and the expiry of the NOI Proceedings, the Company was declared
bankrupt pursuant to the BIA.
As Feronia will not meet the continued listing
requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") following
completion of the transaction, Feronia intends to have its common
shares voluntarily delisted from the TSXV and expects to apply to
Canadian securities regulators to cease to be a reporting issuer
following closing.
For further information please
contact:
Larry SerumaExecutive Chairman, Feronia
Inc.larry.seruma@feronia.com |
Paul DulieuDirector of Communications and Corporate Development,
Feronia Inc.44 (0)7554 521421paul.dulieu@feronia.com |
About Feronia Inc.
- Feronia is an agribusiness
operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- At the heart of Feronia lies a long
established palm oil business, PHC, which has three remotely
located plantations; Lokutu, Yaligimba and Boteka.
- When Feronia acquired its palm oil
business from Unilever in 2009, it had suffered from years of
underinvestment and considerable disruption caused by conflict in
the DRC. Our initial focus has been on rebuilding the business and
resuming production to secure PHC’s future and the livelihoods of
the thousands of people it employs.
- Feronia’s plantations produce crude
palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). CPO is part of the staple
and traditional diet of the Congolese and, with our products sold
locally in the DRC, we are well placed to help decrease reliance on
imports and increase food security and quality.
- Feronia prides itself on being the
guardian of its 109 year-old palm oil business and its employees,
communities, and environment. We have a long term commitment to
improve the living and working environment of our employees and
their communities and are committed to sustainable agriculture,
environmental protection and community inclusion. Feronia has in
place Environmental and Social Management which is focused on
implementing environmental and social best practice and improving
social infrastructure.
- Feronia is working towards
certification by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and
is implementing IFC/World Bank standards for environmental and
social sustainability. Our oil palm replanting programme is
brownfield in nature – replacing old palms with new – and it has no
reliance on deforestation.
- For more information please see
www.feronia.com
Cautionary NotesExcept for
statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in
this press release constitutes “forward-looking information” within
the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking
information may be identified by words such as “anticipates”,
“plans”, “proposes”, “estimates”, “intends”, “expects”, “believes”,
“may” and “will”. There can be no assurance that such statements
will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could
differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially include, among others: risks
related to foreign operations (including various political,
economic and other risks and uncertainties), the interpretation and
implementation of the “Loi Portant Principes Fondamentaux Relatifs
A L’Agriculture”, termination or non-renewal of concession rights
or expropriation of property rights, political instability and
bureaucracy, limited operating history, lack of profitability, lack
of infrastructure in the DRC, high inflation rates, limited
availability of debt financing in the DRC, fluctuations in currency
exchange rates, competition from other businesses, reliance on
various factors (including local labour, importation of machinery
and other key items and business relationships), the Company’s
reliance on two major customers, lower productivity at the
Company’s plantations, risks related to the agricultural industry
(including adverse weather conditions, shifting weather patterns,
and crop failure due to infestations), a shift in commodity trends
and demands, vulnerability to fluctuations in the world market, the
lack of availability of qualified management personnel and stock
market volatility. Details of the risk factors relating to Feronia
and its business are discussed under the heading “Risks and
Uncertainties” in Feronia’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis
for the year ended December 31, 2019, a copy of which is available
on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Most of these
factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are
cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or
regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or
obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the 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.
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