First African Cannabis SPAC Planned by Cilo Cybin Founder Theron

CAPE TOWN– Cilo Cybin, the first firm in South Africa to be approved by regulators to cultivate and sell cannabis while researching the benefits of magic mushrooms, is mulling a listing in Johannesburg…and Luxembourg, according to its CEO, Gabriel Theron.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) granted Cilo Cybin Pharmaceutical (Cilo Cybin) a good manufacturing practice (cGMP) license and certification for pharmaceutical production, product testing, processing, and final packaging of cannabis products on Monday.

As a result, it is South Africa’s top cannabis producer and seller. 

Cilo Cybin’s products are made from a “Durban Poison” strain of cannabis that has a lot of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the principal psychoactive component in the plant.

But the company plans to work on the virtues of a hallucinogenic mushroom, psilocybin, to tackle other conditions, such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress and depression.

“We are now licensed for the final processing of cannabis THC and CBD products, such as oils, tinctures, topicals, etc. We can also prepare the final packaging and labelling for the end consumer,” said the company’s CEO Gabriel Theron. “This opens the door for Cilo Cybin to enter global and local markets with our own brand and product range. An exciting and giant leap forward.”

“Cilo Cybin has secured the global manufacturing and distribution rights to a US brand, Aunt Zelda’s. Mara Gordon, the founder of Aunt Zelda’s, has been spotted on Forbes, TEDx and Netflix (‘Weed the People’) for her knowledge of cannabis, its dosing, treatments and formulations,” he explains.

But to enable the company to move faster in its development in a buoyant market, the entrepreneur also told Bloomberg that he plans to go public in Johannesburg (early next year) and on a second market. “We’re planning a dual listing with the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and we’re thinking possibly of Luxembourg for a secondary listing, or another exchange in Europe.” The company already has a branch in Amsterdam – Global Health Solutions – which is developing a health monitoring tool.

This article was originally published on Paperjam.lu in French. It has been translated and edited for Highly Capitalized.