NA Proactive news snapshot: Surge Holdings, Flowr, Hillcrest Petroleum, Lexaria Bioscience UPDATE …

Surge Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:SURG), which provides financial and telecom services, said that it launched the SurgePhone Wireless plan with unlimited talk, text and nationwide LTE data for only $30 a month. In a statement, the Memphis-based group which offers subsidized wireless service to qualifying low income customers, said the $30 flat monthly fee included taxes and fees. “The SurgePhone Wireless Unlimited Plan provides an unmatched value proposition for the market of 100 million no-contract pay-as-you-go customers in the United States,” said Surge Holdings president Anthony Nuzzo in a statement. The company said the SurgePhone Unlimited Plan was a win-win as it tapped the same telecom towers and LTE nationwide network. The Flowr Corporation (CVE:FLWR) (OCTMKTS:FLWPF) has filed a preliminary short-form base-shelf prospectus with securities regulators in each province of Canada, except for Quebec, that would allow the company to offer up to $175 million in securities. "Although we have no immediate plans to raise capital through this shelf prospectus filing at this time, we believe it's prudent to give the company the flexibility to access capital in the future when opportunities emerge to continue executing on our global growth strategies," said CEO Vinay Tolia in a statement. "Despite the recent market volatility, we continue to be bullish on the growth opportunities in our businesses globally in 2020 and beyond. As we stated in our Q3 update, we believe we'll be cash flow break even in the second half of 2020, with the capital available to us today." Oil junior Hillcrest Petroleum Ltd (CVE:HRH) said that on December 31 last year, a secured loan of C$557,081.34 was converted into company shares at C$0.05 each for a total of 11,141,627 shares. Hillcrest chief executive Don Currie was the lender of record for half the loan and received more than 5.5 million of the shares. Following the conversion, Hillcrest has a total of 123,679,299 shares outstanding. Hillcrest said discussions with other lenders to secure additional debt to equity conversions were ongoing in a bid to retire debt to improve the firm's balance sheet and financial statements. "Hillcrest Petroleum is focused on improving our balance sheet, where possible, and is pleased that Mr. Currie converted his portion of a loan into shares valued at .05 cents in a .035 cent market" said executive chairman Mike Krzus."The company will advise our shareholders when and if other conversions are completed." Lexaria Bioscience Corp (CSE:LXX) (OTCMKTS:LXRP) CEO Chris Bunka told shareholders that they can look forward to “strong, sustainable revenue growth” in 2020 and beyond. The statement from Bunka came as part of a shareholder letter published on Thursday that outlined the Kelowna, British Columbia-based company’s strategic plans for the coming year. A key facet of that plan is to list on a major US stock exchange, opening up the company to a new pool of investors, Bunka told shareholders. CytoDyn Inc (OTCMKTS:CYDY), which is developing leronlimab (PRO 140), a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications, said it will be presenting an update on the group's clinical development programs and objectives for the drug candidate during the Biotech Showcase at the Hilton San Francisco, California, on January 13 this year at 10:30 a.m. PT. The group's president and CEO Nader Pourhassan will present an overview of the firm's clinical programs and provide insights into his vision for CytoDyn in 2020, starting with its first BLA submission of leronlimab (PRO 140) and the future of leronlimab as a potential cancer therapy. Matinas BioPharma Holdings Inc (NYSEAMERICAN:MTNB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has commenced an underwritten public offering of its common stock. In connection with the offering, the company intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares of its common stock offered in the public offering. All of the shares to be sold in the offering are to be sold by Matinas BioPharma. Piper Sandler & Co is acting as the sole lead active bookrunner for the offering. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey is also acting as a bookrunner. Matinas BioPharma anticipates using the net proceeds from the offering for ongoing development activities for its product candidates, primarily MAT9001, which treats cardiovascular and metabolic conditions. Also, the money will go toward working capital and other general corporate purposes. FSD Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:HUGE) (CSE:HUGE), a specialty pharmaceutical research company focused on cannabinoids, announced that it will start trading later Thursday on the tech-laden Nasdaq. “The listing of our shares on the Nasdaq capital market is a momentous moment and represents a paradigm shift in the outlook of FSD Pharma,” said CEO Raza Bokhari. “Doing so offers us an opportunity to expand awareness of the company's specialty pharmaceutical lead asset, a micronized formulation of palmitolylethonalamide (micro-PEA), which by targeting the CB2 receptor of the endocannabinoid system of the human body, may help address the opioid crisis by developing opioid-sparing, FDA-approved prescription drugs,” he added. 1933 Industries Inc’s (CSE:TGIF) (OTCMKTS:TGIFF) subsidiary has struck a licensing agreement with Capna Intellectual Inc, the developer of The Bloom Brand of cannabis products. The one-year agreement was executed in December and received state approval in January. It awards the company’s subsidiary Alternative Medicine Association LLC (AMA), the exclusive license to manufacture a wide range of Bloom products for the Nevada market, according to a statement. Established in California in 2014, Bloom is now sold in over 300 licensed retailers in California, Nevada, Washington and New Mexico, with further expansion planned for new markets in Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Canada. CleanSpark Inc (OCTMKTS:CLSK), an advanced energy software and control technology company, revealed that it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Shoreline Unified School District for microgrid assessment and deployment. The Bountiful, Utah company will evaluate two stages of grid resiliency for the school district in Sonoma County, California. It said microgrids would protect the school from power outages and provide back-up energy to surrounding communities in emergencies. CleanSpark said it will provide its own expertise and mPulse software to maximize the value and resiliency of the microgrid. NexTech AR Solutions Corp (CSE:NTAR) (OTCMKTS:NEXCF) CEO Evan Gappelberg has a message for investors watching major tech players pump money into augmented reality: We’re the only pure play AR company on the block. Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) acquired AI Factory — the company that helped develop its recent Cameos feature — in a quiet $166 million deal, according to reports from WeRSM and others. “While AR/ VR funding and acquisitions are accelerating with SNAP, GOOG, FB, AAPL, MSFT leading the charge by plowing billions into the space, Nextech was up over 400% in 2019,” Gappelberg told Proactive in an email. “[NexTech] remains the only ‘pure play’ investment for 2020." ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd (CVE:IPA) (OTCMKTS:IPATF) said its Dutch subsidiary U-Protein Express BV has taken a new long term lease at the new multi-tenant facility at the Utrecht Science Park, which will encourage collaborations in the life sciences space. The building's design is the vision of listed biotechs Genmab (NASDAQ:GMAB) and Merus NV (NASDAQ:MRUS) and is said to create a unique hub within the 'innovation ecosystem'. "We are delighted to move our continuously expanding service activities towards the new building alongside important stakeholders such as Genmab and Merus," said Dr Martin Hessing, General Manager of U-Protein Express. Next Green Wave Holdings Inc (CSE:NGW) (OTCMKTS:NXGWF) is kicking off the new year with two new additions to its board of directors. The cannabis firm said Thursday that it is adding cannabis executive Robert Dzisiak and finance veteran David Wilson as independent directors. The two will provide “operational insight” and leverage their knowledge in the industry and financial sectors to help navigate the Vancouver-based company through its next phase of growth, the company said in a statement. Pressure BioSciences Inc (OTCMKTS:PBIO) announced Thursday that in 2019 — for the second year in a row — more than 20 scientific journal articles were published that highlight the benefits of its patented pressure cycling technology (PCT) platform. Several publications described the use of the PCT platform to rapidly release molecules for analysis from tissue samples, which can be used to achieve a better understanding of patients’ cancers, disease progression and treatment options. Regarding food, journals highlighted applications using PBI's ultra-high-pressure HUB instrument system for killing food borne bacteria. Additionally, papers reported on the PCT’s use in proteomic research, which covers proteins made or modified by an organism. VCM Group Pty Ltd CEO Michael Vogel, whose firm is teaming up with American Battery Metals Corporation (OTCMKTS:ABML) to help accelerate the launch of its lithium-ion battery-recycling facility in Nevada, called the partnership “more than a transactional project.” American Battey Metals earlier this month announced the joint venture with VCM, an engineering, project management and construction company, to advance the development of its scalable battery-recycling plant, which is expected to have a fully operational launch in mid-2020. "We are highly enthusiastic to partner with American Battery Metals Corporation to fast track their leading-edge lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Nevada,” Vogel said. “This is more than a transactional project for us at VCM; we are especially motivated to advance American Battery Metals Corporation's sustainable recycling process that will reintroduce critical elements back into the battery manufacturing supply chain and provide an e-waste solution that will keep dramatic quantities of hazardous waste from entering global landfills," he added. AgraFlora Organics International Inc (CSE:AGRA) (OTCMKTS:AGFAF) revealed Thursday that the company's CBD-performance product line, HowlBrands, will feature prominently on the Canadian rugby club Toronto Wolfpack’s jerseys throughout the 2020 RLF Super League season. In a statement, the company said the placement of the company’s HowlBrands’ line of CBD creams and sports supplements in Toronto Wolfpack’s home and away kits will mark the first time a CBD-product has been so prominently featured in professional sport. Mawson Resources Ltd (TSE:MAW) (OTCMKTS:MWSNF) said investors can expect plenty of drill results in the coming months as five diamond rigs are now operating at its huge Rajapalot project in Finland. Up to 15,000 metres of expansion drilling is planned over the next four months, the firm said, ahead of an updated resource earmarked for the end of the second quarter or beginning of the third this year. "With winter conditions now suitable, we are full steam ahead in Finland with 5 drill rigs in operation," said Michael Hudson, Mawson's chief executive. The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd (TSE:TGOD) (OTCMKTS:TGODF) is moving forward with a slimmed-down leadership team after announcing Wednesday that two executives are leaving the company. The organic cannabis company’s president, Csaba Reider, is one of them. His role will be assumed by CEO Brian Athaide. Mike Gibbons, vice president of sales, is the other. His responsibilities will be taken on by Vice President of Medical Commercialization Robert Gora, who will now hold the consolidated role of vice president of National Sales. LiteLink Technologies Inc (CSE:LLT) (OTCMKTS:LLNKF) said Thursday that its subsidiary uBUCK Technologies SEZC shipped an initial set of prepaid debit cards to Deltec Bank & Trust Limited in the Bahamas. The shipment marks the first batch of cards delivered to Deltec under a strategic alliance signed in November 2019. The agreement sees Deltec committing to sell uBUCK’s prepaid debit cards from the uBUCK platform to Deltec’s existing bank and wealth management clients. TIMIA Capital Corporation (CVE:TCA) (OTCMKTS:TIMCF) says its first-quarter net income will be positively impacted by the buyout of the financing it had provided to software group BasicGov Systems Inc. Specialty finance company TIMIA provides growth capital to tech companies in exchange for payments based on monthly revenue and its focus is on the fast-growing, global, business-to-business software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment. Last March, it provided C$2 million to Vancouver-based BasicGov Systems, which offers state and local governments a cloud-platform to streamline operations and cut costs. TIMIA made a 40% return in nine months. Marrone Bio Innovations Inc (NASDAQ:MBII) announced Thursday that it had expanded its credit facility to $23 million to support the biotech firm’s expansion. The Davis, California-based company boosted its existing accounts-receivable credit facility by $13 million to total $20 million and added a $3 million inventory-backed credit facility to bring the total amount available to $23 million. The new facilities are thanks to a deal with LSQ Funding Group, which may purchase up to $20 million of eligible customer invoices from Marrone, a figure that represents a significant boost from the $7 million ceiling agreed upon in 2017, the firm said in a release. Bragg Gaming Group Inc (CVE:BRAG) (OTCMKTS:BRGGF) subsidiary GiveMeSport, a sports media publisher, has been granted approval in New Jersey to promote licensed sportsbooks in the state. The online sports media publisher received a vendor license from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which will allow it to direct users from its site to sportsbook websites in the state while earning a commission in the process. NetCents Technology Inc (CSE:NC) (OTCMKTS:NTTCF), the cryptocurrency payments specialist, hailed its latest milestone, exceeding C$1 million in monthly processing volume in December. The group is capturing the migration from cash to digital currency using blockchain to provide payment solutions that it says are simple to use and secure.  1933 Industries Inc’s (CSE:TGIF) (OTCMKTS:TGIFF) subsidiary has struck a licensing agreement with Capna Intellectual Inc, the developer of The Bloom Brand of cannabis products. The one-year agreement was executed in December and received state approval in January. It awards the company’s subsidiary Alternative Medicine Association LLC (AMA), the exclusive license to manufacture a wide range of Bloom products for the Nevada market, according to a statement. Established in California in 2014, Bloom is now sold in over 300 licensed retailers in California, Nevada, Washington and New Mexico, with further expansion planned for new markets in Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Canada. Osino Resources Corp (CVE:OSI) says the latest holes at its Twin Hills Central (THC) discovery in Namibia show the area is a large mineralized system, which promises to be rapidly expanded. The work has increased the strike length of confirmed gold by 50% to 1,200 metres (m) from 800 m previously. Co-Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:CODX) announced Thursday it has been invited to ring the Nasdaq Stock Market opening bell in San Francisco. The company, which is part of the Nasdaq Biotech Index, will ring the bell on January 13. “2019 was a momentous year for Co-Diagnostics,” said CEO Dwight Egan in a statement. Highgold Mining Inc (CVE:HIGH) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a brokered private placement, announced on Novrmber 8, 2019, which will see the issue of 1.28 million flow-through shares and 5.6 million non-flow-through shares at a purchase price of $1.80 per flow-through share and $1.25 per non-flow-through share with 13 placees.