WILDPACK BEVERAGE (WLDPF) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Wildpack Beverage Inc. (WLDPF) is a beverage manufacturing and packaging company that focuses on the middle market. According to the company’s disclosures, Wildpack provides services around sustainable aluminum cans, including can filling, decorating, packaging, brokering, sleeve/label printing services, and logistics for brands throughout the United States. The company’s shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS" and on the OTC Pink market under the symbol "WLDPF".

Wildpack states that it operates indirectly through wholly owned subsidiaries and runs multiple facilities in the United States. In various company releases, Wildpack reports operating out of facilities in Baltimore, Maryland; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Longmont, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas; and Las Vegas, Nevada. The exact number of active facilities has differed across announcements, but the company consistently describes a network of production and service locations supporting its co-packing and packaging activities.

The company describes itself as a middle market co-packer of canned goods. Its activities include aluminum can filling and decorating, printed sleeve and label services, packaging and brokering of cans, and related logistics. Wildpack emphasizes that these services are aimed at beverage brands that use ready-to-drink packaging and that its operations are centered on aluminum cans. The company also highlights a focus on digital innovation and green ready-to-drink packaging in several of its communications.

Wildpack commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS" on May 19, 2021. The company has reported key performance indicators such as confirmed customer orders, throughput measured in cans and sleeves, and plant utilization in its financial updates. These disclosures indicate that Wildpack tracks volumes across decoration, filling, brokering, and sleeve printing as part of its operational metrics.

From a capital structure perspective, Wildpack has disclosed the use of term loans, promissory notes, and convertible debentures. The company has entered into loan agreements with Sandton Credit Solutions Master Fund V, LP (an affiliate of Sandton Capital Partners, L.P.), including amendments that adjust facility size, interest rates, conversion features, and maturity dates. Wildpack has also described additional funding through promissory notes and other loans, as well as a rights offering and a proposed restructuring of its convertible unsecured subordinated debentures.

In its public releases, Wildpack has outlined a Debenture Restructuring Transaction relating to outstanding 8.00% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures. The components described include a proposed repurchase of a portion of the debentures for cash, an exchange of remaining debentures for common shares of the company, and the delisting of the debentures from the TSX Venture Exchange. The company has also discussed obtaining loans from other sources to help fund the repurchase and using proceeds from a rights offering to repay indebtedness under its amended term loan and other loans.

Wildpack’s communications also reference governance and leadership developments. The company has announced operational leadership restructuring, including changes in roles overseeing day-to-day operations, manufacturing, shared services, and brokering. It has also reported resignations of board members and the engagement of PGP Capital Advisors, LLC as a financial advisor with a mandate that includes capital restructuring, financing, acquisitions, and dispositions.

In addition, Wildpack has disclosed transactions involving its subsidiary Thirsty Cat LLC, which it describes as holding substantially all of the company’s assets. The company has reported granting warrants to a lender that are exercisable into a percentage of the equity of Thirsty Cat LLC at a nominal exercise price, in connection with its broader financing arrangements.

Wildpack has also reported on significant shareholdings. For example, an early warning report disclosed that a director increased his beneficial ownership and control of Wildpack common shares, warrants, options, and restricted stock units through a share purchase from an arm’s length shareholder, with the acquisition described as being for investment purposes.

Across its public releases, Wildpack consistently characterizes its role as providing beverage manufacturing and packaging services to the middle market, with an emphasis on sustainable aluminum can-based packaging, co-packing of canned goods, and associated logistics and printing services.

Business model and operations

Based on the company’s own descriptions, Wildpack’s business model centers on co-packing and packaging services for beverage brands that use aluminum cans. The company highlights several operational activities: aluminum can filling, can decorating, packaging, brokering of cans, sleeve/label printing services, and logistics. These services are provided through wholly owned subsidiaries operating from multiple U.S. facilities.

The company’s updates indicate that it measures performance using metrics such as confirmed customer orders, confirmed sales orders, total throughput in cans, decoration throughput, filling throughput, printed sleeve throughput, brokering throughput, and plant utilization. These metrics are reported in its financial and operational news releases and are used by the company to describe its scale of activity and utilization of its production capacity.

Capital structure and restructuring efforts

Wildpack has disclosed a significant level of debt, including convertible unsecured subordinated debentures and term loans. The company has described a series of amendments to its term loan with Sandton Credit Solutions Master Fund V, LP, including changes to facility size, conversion terms, interest rates, and maturity dates, as well as waivers of certain covenants and the use of paid-in-kind interest for specified periods.

In multiple releases, Wildpack outlines a proposed Debenture Restructuring Transaction involving:

• Repurchasing a portion of its outstanding debentures for cash.
• Exchanging remaining debentures for common shares at a specified exchange price.
• Delisting the debentures from the TSX Venture Exchange.

The company has also described efforts to obtain additional loans from other sources to partially fund the debenture repurchase, with those loans bearing specified interest rates and being secured against the repurchased debentures until cancellation. Wildpack has indicated that a rights offering is intended to raise additional equity capital, with a portion of the proceeds to be used to repay indebtedness under its amended term loan and the additional loans.

In a later update, Wildpack announced that it was unable to pay the outstanding principal and interest on a series of 8% senior unsecured convertible debentures when due, and that it had not yet secured an extension of the payment deadline. The company stated that it continued to engage with stakeholders to restructure its debt and consider strategic and financial alternatives focused on relieving the financial burden of its debt structure and obtaining financing to fund ongoing operations, while noting that there could be no assurance that a transaction would be completed.

Corporate developments

Wildpack has reported several corporate developments, including:

• Operational leadership restructuring to adjust responsibilities for day-to-day operations, manufacturing, shared services, and brokering.
• Resignations of board members, which the company has described as being in the best interest of Wildpack to avoid potential conflicts.
• Engagement of PGP Capital Advisors, LLC as financial advisor to assist management and the board in assessing opportunities related to capital restructuring, financing, acquisitions, and dispositions.
• Granting of warrants to a lender that are exercisable into equity of Thirsty Cat LLC, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary that holds substantially all of its assets, replacing a previously granted option on common shares.
• Changes in significant shareholdings disclosed through early warning reports, including increased ownership by a director through a share purchase agreement.

Exchange listings and regulatory context

Wildpack states that it commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS" on May 19, 2021. The company also refers to debentures listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbols "CANS.DB" and "CANS.DB.A", and has described conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange for certain aspects of its restructuring transactions, including the proposed delisting of those debentures. In its news releases, Wildpack notes that the TSX Venture Exchange and its regulation services provider do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the releases.