TORONTO, April 3, 2023 /CNW/ - Halo Collective Inc. ("Halo" or the "Corporation") (NEO: HALO) (OTCQB: HCANF) (FSE: A9K0) a vertical integrated cannabis company, announced today that it has not met its filing deadline for its audited annual financial statements and accompanying management's discussion and analysis and related CEO and CFO certificates for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 (collectively, the "Issuer Statements") as required under applicable Canadian securities laws, and that a management cease trade order ("MCTO") has been granted by the Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC").

In connection with the Corporation's expectation that it would be unable to file the Issuer Statements on time, the Corporation applied for an MCTO under National Policy 12-203 – Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203") as disclosed in the Corporation's news release dated March 20, 2023.

As previously announced, the Corporation applied for the MCTO due to delays in connection with a recent change of auditor for the Corporation and the additional steps required for third party valuations needed for audit purposes, and has now determined that it will not be able to file Issuer Statements on time.

Today, the OSC, as the Corporation's principal regulator, granted the Corporation's application for the MCTO.

The MCTO restricts trading in securities of the Corporation by management of the Corporation ‎until such time as the Issuer Statements have been filed by the Corporation and the MCTO is no longer in effect. The MCTO does not affect the ability of shareholders to trade their securities and the general investing public will continue to be able to trade in the Corporation's common shares. However, the Corporation's CEO and CFO will not be able to trade the Corporation's common shares until such time as the Issuer Statements have been filed and all continuous disclosure requirements have been satisfied by the Corporation, and the MCTO has been revoked by the OSC.  

The Corporation's finance and accounting teams are working diligently with its auditors and the Corporation expects to have the audit of the Issuer Statements completed no later than April 30, 2023. The Corporation will issue a news release once the Issuer Statements have been filed. Until the Corporation files the Issuer Statements, it will comply with the alternative information guidelines set out in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports, in the form of news releases, for so long as the Issuer Statements have not been filed.

About Halo Collective

Halo is focused on the United States West Coast, where it has vertically integrated operations covering the entire value chain from seed to sale. Halo cultivates, extracts, manufactures, and distributes quality cannabis flower, pre-rolls, vape carts, edibles, and concentrates. Halo sells these products under a portfolio of brands, including Hush™, Winberry Farms™, its retail brand Budega™, and license agreements with FlowerShop*. In addition, Halo has opened two dispensaries in Los Angeles under the Budega™ brand in North Hollywood and Hollywood, with plans to open one more in Hollywood in 2023.

In the non-THC sector, Halo is expanding into health and wellness categories, including CBD and functional supplements such as nootropic nutraceuticals and non-psychotropic mushrooms. Halo, through a series of acquisitions, has product offerings in the form of beverages (H2C Beverages), dissolvable strips (Dissolve Medical), capsules (Hushrooms™), and topical supplements (Hatshe) with proposed national distribution via a strategic agreement with SWAYEnergy Corporation.

Halo has successfully acquired and integrated a variety of companies which were subsequently reorganized to create Akanda Corp. (NASDAQ: AKAN), an international medical cannabis and wellness company, of which Halo is the largest shareholder. Halo has also acquired a range of software development assets, including CannPOS, Cannalift, CannaFeels, and a discrete sublingual dosing technology, Accudab. Halo intends to reorganize these entities (including their intellectual property and patent applications) into a subsidiary called Halo Tek Inc. and to complete the distribution of the shares of Halo Tek Inc. to shareholders on record at a date to be determined.

For further information regarding Halo, see Halo's disclosure documents on SEDAR at www.sedar.com

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Halo's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Halo's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited Halo's ability to file the Issuer Statements by April 30, 2023.

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Halo is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Halo has made certain assumptions. Although Halo believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Should one or more of the assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Halo does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to Halo or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.