Mota Ventures Corp (CSE:MOTA) (OTCMKTS:PEMTF) is a newly created, vertically integrated cannabidiol (CBD) and psychedelic medicine company with operations in North America and South America as well as Europe.
The Vancouver-based company’s origins began in Colombia. In December 2019, the company changed its name from Primary Energy Metals to transform into Mota Ventures after it acquired Columbian cannabis producer NNZ Consulting Corp. Another Columbian acquisition - subsidiary Ihuana SAS - operates a 2.5-hectare growing site and a 2,000 square-foot research and development facility.
Outside South America, Mota owns European psychedelic medicine company Verrian Ontario Ltd and has a binding deal to purchase e-commerce platform Unified Funding, a direct-to-consumer retailer of CBD and natural health products in Europe and the US that recently entered the psychedelics market. It also owns online retail business First Class CBD of Wyoming, which had been operated by Unified Funding.
Mota runs the popular Nature’s Exclusive brand that includes CBD oil drops, CBD gummies, CBD pain relief cream, CDB skin serum and CBD coffee. The CBD oil is distilled from US-grown hemp with the end products sold in the US and Europe.
Within Europe, Mota’s Satividia brand of award-winning 100% organic CBD oils and cosmetics are sold throughout Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, France, and the UK. Satividia is also an online retailer in Spain and Mexico.
Mota has struck a 50-50 joint venture with BevCanna Enterprises Inc (CSE:BEV) (OTCMKTS:BVNNF), which gives it exclusive rights to sell BevCanna house brands in Europe for five years.
In addition, Moto holds a 20% interest in Folium Life Sciences Inc, which is developing a licensed indoor cannabis production facility on Vancouver Island.
Since December 2019, the newly formed company has moved aggressively to grow itself through strategic acquisitions and partnerships.
In less than six months, Mota has established operations in the Americas and Europe, all part of its plans to be a major player in CBD and medical psychedelic industries.
So far in 2020, it has spent more US$85 million on acquisitions, creating a global footprint comprised of low-cost CBD cultivation and extraction facilities, established CBD brands, and international online sales channels.
It spent C$32 million to get First Class CBD and another US$2.2 million (plus an earn-out component of three milestone payments based on revenue) to buy the Satividia brand.
Mota's biggest outlay to date is the US$45 million to purchase global online retailer United Funding, which generates revenue from licensing, marketing and product fees supporting brands in the natural health sector, including skincare, nutraceutical, essential oils and CBD.
The purchase will allow Mota to tap a database of more than 1 million customers who have generated C$375 million in transactions since 2015, develop new products, and expand into new healthcare markets.
The company has been willing to spend C$20 million to establish a foothold in the growing field of psychedelics, both manmade (LSD) and natural-derived substances (psilocybin), among many others, that show promise in treating anxiety, mood, and substance-abuse disorders.
Mota in June closed on its acquisition of Verrian GmbH, which has a special focus on treating alcohol and opiate abuse with psychedelics. Verrian operates a 110,000 square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Radebuel, Germany.
And the company recently raised more than C$4.5 million in financing to give it the necessary capital to buy companies with growing revenue streams.
In building its management team, at the start of the year, the company named online e-commerce expert Ryan Hoggan, who founded First Class CBD, as its new CEO. Joel Shacker transitioned to president and remains on the group's board of directors, and former US President Bill Clinton’s brother Roger Cassidy Clinton now sits on the advisory board for subsidiary Verrian.
Meanwhile, demand for Mota’s First Class CBD and Nature’s Exclusive CBD products is increasing, thanks in part to an uptick in online shopping as more people buy from home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Nature’s Exclusive posted a record jump in revenue in May to C$5,141,000, up 110% year-over-over. The brand clocked 23,141 new customers during the month. In March, First Class CBD garnered sales of C$4,290,000, a 235% year-over-year jump, and added 20,959 new customers.
On track to achieve 2020 goals Expand First Class's existing operations in the US and Europe Increase investment in customer acquisition and retention Realize supply chain efficiencies to reduce product costs"I am very pleased our Nature's Exclusive brand achieved another monthly sales record. We continued to expand in the United States, and our outlook for the second half of fiscal 2020 is very positive,” Mota Ventures CEO Ryan Hoggan said recently. “We remain on track to achieve our goals for 2020 despite the recent economic turmoil."
