It paid Passport Technology $4,175,000 which includes $375,000 in cash, and 5 million in shares of Body and Mind, and some Australis stock
() (OTCMKTS:AUSAF) revealed Friday that it has appointed accounting firm Squar Milner LLP as its auditor to replace MNP LLP effectively from November 27.
Squar Milner LLP is one of the Top 50 largest accounting firms in the United States and one of the largest in California.
In a company statement, Australis Capital said its engagement partner, Sam Salty who is a partner in Squar Milner’s audit services department, has over 15 years of experience in the public accounting industry focused on IPOs, secondary offerings, M&A and due diligence.
READ: Australis Capital poised to take advantage of rapidly growing US cannabis market
Squar Milner also has an impressive roster of clients which includes 34 SEC registrants, six Canadian public companies, and 28 Cannabis clients.
Finalizes deal with Astound Group
On a separate note, Australis Capital said it has finalized a three-year agreement with creative and design house, Astound Group, to consolidate design, merchandising, and brand strategy for Australis' house of brands.
With offices in Toronto and Las Vegas, Astound has developed, designed and deployed projects for Fortune 500 brands in more than 30 countries around the world.
The company said Astound would partner with Australis to optimize brands, expand awareness of their unique stories, and introduce new products under Australis' house of brands, including Mr Natural, Tsunami, Provisions, GT Flowers, and CocoonRewards.
In exchange for the services, Australis said it has issued 5 million shares of common stock it held to Astound.
"We are pleased to have finalized our partnership with Astound," said Australis Capital CFO Michael Carlotti in a statement.
"The ability to lock-in these services at a fixed cost enables Australis Capital to manage cash flow over the three-year term while gaining the expertise of a world-renowned marketing firm," he added.
Partnership with a seasoned developer
Meanwhile, Australis Capital earlier announced the formation of a new subsidiary, Cocoon Technology, which will develop a self-service kiosk (CocoonPod) for the cannabis industry. Each device will handle all aspects of consumer interaction including ID processing, payment and rewards, with integration into dispensary retail platforms for order fulfillment and reporting. Cocoon is the product of a development partnership with Passport Technology. Passport is primarily a developer of self-service cash access devices and kiosks for use in the casino industry.
Australis said it finalized the consideration for its license agreement with Passport Technology. “This consideration is for the prototype development, conversion of Passport's self-service platform to service the cannabis industry, a 10-year exclusive relationship and ongoing product enhancements, software rights and exclusive use of vendor relationships at cost,” said the company.
Australis said it issued a total of $4,175,000 — which included $375,000 in cash, and 5 million shares of , and 1,829,219 shares of Australis in common stock — to Passport Technology. Passport is private company, 51% of it is held by Wyvern Capital, which is an entity controlled by the issuer's CEO.
() (OTCMKTS:AUSAF) aims to build companies through early-stage, opportunistic, and diversified investments in the cannabis value chain in the US and abroad.
Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
