(Alliance News) - Iodine producer Iofina PLC said Wednesday it has made a USD900,000 strategic investment into Organic Vines OP LLC, a feminised hemp seed production and genetics firm.
Organic Vines is looking to raise USD1.9 million to finance one grow cycle at its greenhouse facility in Denver, Colorado, with the harvest and sale of hemp seeds at the site expected to conclude before mid-2020.
The site itself includes four greenhouses totalling 240,000 square feet, and is capable of producing over 50 million hemp seeds per grow cycle which last around four months from planting to harvest.
The USD900,000 investment was made by Iofina subsidiary IofinaEX through a non-voting equity preference share, which has a first call on returns made from the grow cycle, for up to a maximum of three times the initial investment.
Assuming a successful crop, Iofina expects to make a profit on investment by mid-2020 totalling up to USD1.8 million.
Once the return has been achieved, the preference share class will dissolve and Iofina's investment in Organic Vines will cease.
"As we continue to develop our hemp/CBD business, we are executing strategies to advance our plans for IofinaEX. We anticipate this strategic investment to be the first of many steps for IofinaEX to thrive in this rapidly growing hemp market, and we look forward to updating the market on further progress in due course," said Chief Executive Officer Tom Becker.
Shares in Iofina - which is headquartered in London - remained flat at 23.00 pence on Wednesday.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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Iofina (IOF)