VAUGHAN, Ont. — Beleaguered cannabis company CannTrust Equity Inc. has been renamed Phoena Holdings Inc.
The company says the new name is derived from the word “phenotype,” which describes traits within a plant’s genetic code that are used to produce cannabis.
Phoena will be 90 per cent owned by investors led by a subsidiary of KenzollB.V., a Netherlands -based private equity investment company, and 10 per cent owned by CannTrust Holdings Inc.
The renaming is meant to usher in a new era for the company, which exited creditor protection in March, after receiving $17 million in financing from the Kenzoll subsidiary, Marshall Fields International B.V.
The creditor protection came after the Vaughan, Ont.- based company behind the Liiv, SYNR.G, Xscape and Estora brands was found growing thousands of kilograms of cannabis in unlicensed rooms between 2018 and 2019.
Later, the Ontario Securities Commission and investors began pursuing lawsuits against three of the company’s former executives, who they accused of making misrepresentations about CannTrust having necessary licences for growing cannabis.
Phoena, which was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2020, says it will continue to review alternatives to obtaining a stock exchange listing for its common shares.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2022.
