Canadian cannabis company Phoena Holdings, formally called CannTrust Holdings, intends to wind down its business and has obtained creditor protection for a second time, according to a report by The Canadian Press.
The report, which cited documents filed with a Toronto court, said the company is insolvent and plans to liquidate its assets.
Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz reportedly granted the company creditor protection last week.
The company is winding down after failing to revive its business after emerging from credit protection in March 2022, interim chief executive Cornelis Pieter Melissen said in an affidavit, per The Canadian Press' report.
Melissen said the company was unable to recover after its cannabis licenses were suspended in September 2019 amid accusations that it had grown cannabis in unlicensed rooms at a Fenwick, Ontario facility.
“The Phoena Group has been unable to recover CannTrust’s patient base that was lost during the period of time when CannTrust’s cannabis licenses were suspended,” Melissen said.
“Further, since the suspension of those licenses in September 2019, the Canadian cannabis market has become increasingly competitive, with market share dominated by a handful of major corporations.”
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