DOVER, Del. — International Star, Inc. (OTC:ILST) (the “Company” or “ILST”) is pleased to announce that our acquisition of Budding Equity Inc. (BEi) is now complete. BEi is a Canadian company that partners with movie studios and celebrities to monetize their intellectual property (IP) in the global cannabis industry, using best-in-class manufacturers and distributors. This acquisition is one prong in our broader strategy of expanding via internal revenue growth and the synergistic acquisition of other cash-flowing and sustainable businesses.
The following is an overview of the BEi transaction:
As previously reported, on August 24, 2022, BEi and ILST entered into an agreement which provided for ILST to lend funds to BEi, to be used as working capital for its purchase of inventory, and for the grant of an option to ILST to acquire BEI within 12 months.
To date, BEi’s total principal loan drawdown from ILST, in the amount of $375,000, resulted in the issuance of a 7.5% equity stake for ILST in BEi.
In October 2022, ILST announced its intention to exercise the option to purchase the remaining 92.5% equity stake in BEi.
In February 2023, ILST exercised the full option and issued a Note to BEi’s controlling shareholders to acquire all of BEi’s remaining equity. Payment by ILST is being made in the form of cash and preferred stock.
ILST is now the controlling shareholder of BEi, owning all of its outstanding shares.
In this transaction, BEi was valued at $1,700,000 (Canadian) or about $1,265,000 (USD). That valuation was based on a multiple of adjusted cash flow, assets, future earnings, receivables, and inventory.
Commenting on the transaction, Dan Rubin, the CEO of Budding Equity, stated, “The completion of this transaction represents a meaningful milestone in the purposeful journey we started 8 years ago. Our vision is to bring cannabis culture to consumers in some safe meaningful way. With the maturation and growth in the cannabis industry, we are confident that this acquisition will help us to provide even greater value to our stakeholders and bring new innovations to the market. We look forward to working with the talented team at ILST and capitalizing on the vast opportunities available to us in this dynamic industry.”
With the BEi transaction complete, ILST now effectively has (through BEi) royalty agreements with various intellectual property brands, including studios and celebrity partners such as Sony Pictures, Paramount, and Trailer Park Boys, giving us front-row seats for future opportunities to license these studios’ IP for cannabis-related brands.
In addition, we have two Joint Venture (JV) partnerships (also through BEi) with Kevin Smith and Jay Mewes, operating under “Da Grassy High Inc.” and Ice Cube, operating under his “Fryday” brand. These JVs provide us with licensing and branding rights relating to accessories and consumables sold in dispensaries in Arizona, California, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nevada, Washington, and parts of Canada. Caviar Gold produces the smokeable products for our JV partnerships, which owns a unique patent on cannabis infusion. Unlike other “infused” products on the market, which utilize “on the leaf” and call it infusion, Caviar Gold’s are genuinely infused “into the leaf,” resulting in consistent measurable smokables that consumers love.
A few other points:
Because we are a brand and royalty operator, we do not touch, sell, or distribute any flower or elements of the products that require state or other regulatory licenses.
BEi is currently developing a new line of novelty hardware about which we will update shareholders as progress is made.
Furthermore, BEi is currently negotiating two additional royalty partnerships. If these develop further, we will share the information with our shareholders.
In other Company News:
Our company website is being updated and will be launched as soon as the content is complete. We are also awaiting new media to be incorporated into our web pages, likely to be available to us by March 2023.
We expect to retain a public relations firm which should, among other benefits, help ensure that we regularly provide our shareholders with information and updates concerning the Company.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STAR
International Star Inc. has historically been focused on mineral property interests. In June 2022, a controlling stake in International Star was acquired by ILST Holdco LLC. Under its new management, the Company intends to build a successful and financially robust enterprise which will consistently create and build stakeholders’ value. Our strategic objective is to expand via internal revenue growth and the synergistic acquisition of other cash-flowing and sustainable businesses. In accordance with this strategy, in February 2023, ILST completed its acquisition of Budding Equity, Inc.
Safe Harbor Statement
Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “may,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance.
