CannTrust Reports Received Cease Trade Order Issued By Ontario Securities Commission Related To Co.'s Failure To File Periodic Disclosure

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | April 14, 2020 09:09am

CannTrust Holdings Inc. ((", CannTrust", or the ", Company", , TSX:TRST, NYSE:CTST) announced that, after the close of markets on April 13, 2020, the Company received a cease trade order (the "Cease Trade Order") issued by the Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC") as a result of CannTrust's failure to file the following periodic disclosure required by Ontario securities legislation:

The Company's audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019;
Management's Discussion and Analysis relating to the Company's audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019;
The Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2019;
Interim Financial Statements of the Company for the periods ended June 30 and September 30, 2019;
Management's Discussion and Analysis relating to the Company's interim financial statements for the periods ended June 30 and September 30, 2019;
Certification of the foregoing filings by the Company as required by National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings.

The Cease Trade Order, among other things;

Revokes the management cease trade order issued by the OSC on August 15, 2019 in respect to certain directors and officers of CannTrust, which prohibited those directors and officers from trading in the Company's securities until after the Company cured its disclosure defaults;
Prohibits any person or company from trading, directly or indirectly, in any security of the Company in the Province of Ontario, and in every other province or territory of Canada in which CannTrust is a reporting issuer and in which Multilateral Instrument 11-103 - Failure-to-File Cease Trade Orders in Multiple Jurisdictions applies, except for:
- Any sale of CannTrust securities by any person who is not an insider or control person of the Company, provided such sale is effected through a registered Canadian investment dealer on a "foreign organized regulated market", as defined in section 1.1 of the Universal Market Integrity Rules of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada; and
- The exercise by the holder of any "specified put contract" (as defined in the Cease Trade Order) that existed prior to the date of the Cease Trade Order, and the sale of the underlying CannTrust shares (and the corresponding purchase of shares by the writer of the specified put contract) under the terms of such specified put contract, provided that such holder is not an insider or control person of the Company and the put contract was issued and will be cleared by the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation.

As previously announced when CannTrust obtained its initial order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act(Canada) ("CCAA"), the Company has determined that it does not currently intend to devote additional time or money towards curing its public disclosure defaults by completing and resuming the filing of required reports under Canadian andUnited Statessecurities laws. Upon completion of its CCAA process, and depending on the circumstances prevailing at that time, the Company may determine to resume devoting additional time and money towards curing its public disclosure defaults by completing and resuming the filing of required reports under Canadian andUnited Statessecurities laws. However, there can be no assurance at this time that the Company will do so.

Holders of CannTrust securities are urged to consult with their own investment advisors or legal counsel about the implications of the Cease Trade Order.

A copy of the Cease Trade Order has been posted on the website of the Canadian Securities Administrators at cto-iov.csa-acvm.ca and will be posted on the Company's website.

Posted In: TSX:TRST