FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR

Mr. Sferra serves as Founder and Managing Director of Hillcrest Merchant Partners, and has significant experience in M&A, hostile defense and fairness opinions. Mr. Sferra has an extensive background in the financial services industry spanning approximately 20 years.

Mr. Sferra began his financial career as an equity research analyst at TD Securities, specializing in auto parts, industrials, solar and automation. He then spent two years as Vice President of Investments at Pinetree Capital Ltd., a small-cap focused firm and an angel investor in the mining, energy and tech investments sectors before moving to Macquarie Group to serve as the firm’s Director of Institutional Sales. Mr. Sferra spent five years at Dundee Capital Markets, first as Director of Institutional Sales, then as Co-Head of Investment Banking, running the cannabis, specialty pharmaceuticals, mining, technology, and gaming practices. Mr. Sferra has extensive merger experience across the above sectors and was intimately involved as an advisor in the merger of the four public companies in what was the restart of Osisko Mining.

VICE PRESIDENT

Geoff is Vice President at Hillcrest Merchant Partners and works with Mr. Sferra on all financing and M&A transactions. He has prior experience in M&A, Corporate Development and RTO/IPOs.

Mr. St. Clair started his career as an Analyst at Mettrum Health Corp. (acquired by Canopy Growth Corp. for $430M), one of Canada's first cannabis companies. Following Mettrum, Mr. St. Clair spent time in asset management at Jarislowsky Fraser helping manage portfolios for high net worth and institutional clients and at Aurora Cannabis as part of the M&A team working on over $250M of transactions.

All stock transaction representing a total transaction value of approximately C$17.2 million (including shares already owned by Alamos).

Alamos currently owns 65,211,077 Manitou Shares, representing approximately 19% of the issued and outstanding Manitou Shares.

Expected to increase Alamos’ land package around the Island Gold Deposit to 55,277 ha, a 267% increase.

All stock deal with $21MM upfront and $15MM on earnout.

Acquisition expands and diversifies TGOD’s product portfolio across edibles, vapes, pre-rolls and solventless products.

Strengthens TGOD’s executive capabilities with the addition of industry veterans.

Acquisition expands Valens’ product offering into premium flower and pre-rolls.

Adds over 40 provincial listings to Valens’ 180 provincial listings.

Transaction expected to be accretive to Valens in 2021 and 2022, before synergies.

Recapitalization transaction significantly reduces debt obligations and allows the company to focus on growth.

Subsequent equity capital raise for up to $5MM for growth initiatives.

All stock deal with $21MM upfront and $20MM on earnout.

Bolsters Heritage’s product portfolio with a wide range of high-quality concentrate products across premium, core and value priced brands.

Gives Heritage coast to coast distribution and a strong development pipeline.

All stock transaction valued at up to approximately $175MM, including certain milestone payments.

The Transaction is expected to provide Aurora with a premium and differentiated organic certified product suite, expanding both its medical and adult-use offerings, and reinforcing Aurora's presence in the well-established west coast cannabis market.

*Hillcrest Partners and employees, while at another investment bank, have been involved in seminal transactions for multiple companies.

With its agreement to acquire Mettrum, Canopy Growth will add two national brands to its portfolio, increase its production platform and create room for further expansion.

All stock deal for $430MM with existing Canopy Growth and Mettrum shareholders expected to own approximately 77.7% and 22.3%, respectively, of the pro forma company.

*Hillcrest Partners and employees, while at another investment bank, have been involved in seminal transactions for multiple companies.

Transaction solidifies Tweed as the leading cannabis player in the industry.

Combined entity will have a strong portfolio of brands, expanded clinical research capabilities, and new products and services.

Transaction solidifies Tweed as the leading cannabis player in the industry.

*Hillcrest Partners and employees, while at another investment bank, have been involved in seminal transactions for multiple companies.

All stock transaction that values Lithium Americas at approximately $80MM.

The merged entity will establish market leadership and develop future lithium supply requirements in a disciplined manner to reshape the current fragmented lithium development sector.

*Hillcrest Partners and employees, while at another investment bank, have been involved in seminal transactions for multiple companies.

On June 9, 2015, Oban announced the acquisition of Eagle Hill Exploration Corp., Temex Resources Corp., Ryan Gold Corp. and Corona Gold Corp., offering share consideration to each target.

On January 11, 2016, Oban announced the acquisition of NioGold Mining Corporation for $0.50 per share in stock, a 51.5% to NioGold’s closing price.

*Hillcrest Partners and employees, while at another investment bank, have been involved in seminal transactions for multiple companies.

Scaling 1 Capital Corp. has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to complete a qualifying transaction with Matador Gold Technologies Inc., involving a share consolidation and the issuance of approximately 70.15 million new shares, forming a new entity with a focus on digitizing the gold buying experience.

Before finalizing the transaction, both companies plan to raise a minimum of CAD$3.5 million through private placements, with funds converting into new shares upon the transaction's completion.

The transaction is subject to board approvals, due diligence, and a formal agreement, with trading in Scaling's shares remaining halted until the transaction is completed or the necessary documentation is provided to resume trading.

Above Food has acquired the Specialty Crop Food Ingredient Division of The Redwood Group for $34 million, expanding its physical footprint into the U.S. and strengthening its vertically integrated "Seed-to-Fork" supply chain.

The acquired assets generated $164 million in unaudited revenue in FY 2023, with a significant portion from the high-growth pet food market, positioning Above Food to capitalize on the $202 billion human and $26 billion pet food markets.

The acquisition adds owned and third-party facilities with an asset-light model, enhancing Above Food's processing capacity, margin optimization, and risk mitigation across its North American and European markets.

Above Food's common shares and warrants will start trading on Nasdaq under the symbols “ABVE” and “ABVE.W” on July 1, 2024, following the completion of its business combination with Bite Acquisition Corp.

Above Food operates a vertically integrated "Seed-to-Fork" platform, delivering specialized ingredients and consumer products to over 260 customers globally and 35,000 retail locations, with a focus on regenerative agriculture and supply chain traceability.

The company is positioned to capitalize on a $200+ billion market opportunity, with existing assets capable of generating over $650 million in revenue, supported by favorable trends in plant-based foods and sustainable practices.

Matador Gold Technologies and UTXO Management have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate innovation within the bitcoin ecosystem, with UTXO investing $3 million in bitcoin and crypto-related assets in Matador.

The partnership includes the creation of a co-managed bitcoin-focused investment fund aimed at driving innovation in areas such as bitcoin tokenization, decentralized finance, and scalability solutions.

Matador will launch an internal product launchpad, beginning with Matador Gold, to bring new features and projects to the bitcoin ecosystem, further solidifying its role as an innovator in the industry.

Hillcrest plays an active role in helping businesses progress and develop. Our merchant banking platform not only invests its own capital, but also brings operational experience and strategic relationships to help entrepreneurs execute business plans, raise capital and build world-class businesses.

We carefully choose which engagements to pursue and concentrate our efforts on providing customized solutions with exceptional execution of transactions, ultimately helping our clients achieve their strategic objectives and obtain the complete value they deserve.

We have extensive experience in executing numerous "go-public" transactions, serving as advisors as well as entrepreneurs or owners of our own businesses. We aim to combine our diverse knowledge to offer our clients valuable expertise and insight into a typically intricate and ambiguous process that involves various complex "street" dynamics.

Drawing on our expertise in corporate development, we can help companies evaluate, formulate, and implement a well-defined corporate development program, as well as effectively convey targeted messages to both retail and institutional audiences in the capital markets.

Our corporate finance solutions are tailored to each client's unique circumstances and designed to help them optimize their finances, minimize risks, and maximize returns. Our goal is to provide exceptional financial advisory services that enable our clients to make informed financial decisions and achieve greater financial success.