Australis Capital Inc. (CSE: AUSA) (OTC: AUSAF) terminated a proposed merger with Folium Equity Holding LLC and Folium Merger Sub, LLC. At the time Folium would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of AUSA, and AUSA would be rebranded as and carry on the business of Folium. AUSA said that recently discovered new relevant information with regard to Folium caused the company to back out of the deal.

“AUSA continues to lean heavily on corporate governance and our vision to navigate through an incredibly unpredictable market over the past 12 months,” states Scott Dowty, CEO of AUSA. “With over $38.2 million in cash,  liquid assets, and other assets that can easily be converted into cash within a short amount of time and $5.2 million annual burn excluding charges from capital projects and one-time occurrence, AUSA has a very strong financial position. With 18 months of operating experience behind us, we are excited about the future and eager to execute on our strategy starting with our corporate update on February 26, 2020.”

A trading halt on AUSA stock was issued in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Stock Exchange at the time of the announcement of the proposed merger agreement. As the transaction will not proceed, trading is expected to resume on the CSE and OTC shortly.

Warning Signs

Australis had sent warning signs that the company may not move forward with the deal in corporate meeting notes that surfaced on Google. In those notes, Dowty said, “It was concerning with the multiple lawsuits and all of the stuff on social media. After due diligence and getting to know the team at folium, we felt comfortable you know, with where they are going.”

However, Dowty then said, “When we did the merger agreement, we now had the chance to do our audits and get into the details of the company. First chance to do corporate governance, make sure due diligence is right, etc. That’s where we are now. The last 2 months since the halt we have been able to get into the company, see real data (data people are telling us or giving us) and that’s where we are now with Folium. I can’t say much on this subject but there will be a corporate update on FEB 26th . We like CBD; however, the industry has changed, we have much more data now because we’ve been inside and there’s a corporate update on FEB 26th. Can’t tell you more than that, other than we have much more data, because we’ve been inside, the halt and because of that data there will be a corporate update.”