Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 20, 2023) - Halo Collective Inc. (NEO: HALO) (OTCQB: HCANF) (FSE: A9K0) ("Halo" or the "Corporation") announced today that it does not anticipate being in a position to file its audited annual financial statements (the "Issuer Statements"), management's discussion and analysis and related certifications for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 on or before March 31, 2023, as required, due to a recent change of auditor for the Corporation and the additional steps required for third party valuations needed for audit purposes.

Accordingly, the Corporation has requested the issuance of a management cease trade order under the provisions of National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203") so as to permit the continued trading in the Corporation's common shares by persons other than insiders and employees of the Corporation. The Corporation's finance and accounting teams are working diligently with its auditors, and the Corporation expects to have the audit of the Issuer Statements completed, and the Issuer Statements filed, no later than April 30, 2023.

The Corporation confirms that it intends to satisfy the provisions of NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the Corporation remains in default of the financial statement filing requirement, containing any material changes to the information in this release, all actions taken by the Corporation to remedy the default; particulars of any failure by the Corporation to fulfill these provisions, any subsequent defaults of the Corporation requiring a default announcement and any other material information concerning the affairs of the Corporation not previously disclosed. The Corporation is not subject to any insolvency proceedings nor is there in other material information concerning the affairs of the Corporation that has not been generally disclosed.

About Halo Collective

Halo is focused on the United States West Coast, where it has vertically integrated operations covering the entire value chain from seed to sale. Halo cultivates, extracts, manufactures, and distributes quality cannabis flower, pre-rolls, vape carts, edibles, and concentrates. Halo sells these products under a portfolio of brands, including Hush™, Winberry Farms™, its retail brand Budega™, and license agreements with FlowerShop*. In addition, Halo has opened two dispensaries in Los Angeles under the Budega™ brand in North Hollywood and Hollywood, with plans to open one more in Hollywood in 2022.

In the non-THC sector, Halo is expanding into health and wellness categories, including CBD and functional supplements such as nootropic nutraceuticals and non-psychotropic mushrooms. Halo, through a series of acquisitions, has product offerings in the form of beverages (H2C Beverages), dissolvable strips (Dissolve Medical), capsules (Hushrooms™), and topical supplements (Hatshe) with proposed national distribution via a strategic agreement with SWAYEnergy Corporation.

Halo has successfully acquired and integrated a variety of companies which were subsequently reorganized to create Akanda Corp. (NASDAQ: AKAN), an international medical cannabis and wellness company, of which Halo is the largest shareholder. Halo has also acquired a range of software development assets, including CannPOS, Cannalift, CannaFeels, and a discrete sublingual dosing technology, Accudab. Halo intends to reorganize these entities (including their intellectual property and patent applications) into a subsidiary called Halo Tek Inc. and to complete the distribution of the shares of Halo Tek Inc. to shareholders on record at a date to be determined.

For further information regarding Halo, see Halo's disclosure documents on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Contact Information

Halo Collective Inc.
Investor Relations
info@haloco.com
www.haloco.com/investors

For additional information please contact Marshall Minor, Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation at (541) 646-5694 or marshall@haloco.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Halo's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Halo's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited to expectations regarding improved performance, management's plans regarding Pistil Point and the California market, plans regarding streamlining of business segments, management's plans regarding its portfolio of cannabis businesses and intention to expand into health and wellness, the proposed distribution agreement with SWAY Energy Corporation, the expected opening date of the Corporation's California dispensaries and the proposed spin-off by Halo Tek Inc.

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Halo is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Halo has made certain assumptions. Although Halo believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Among others, the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: inability of management to successfully integrate the operations of acquired businesses, changes in the consumer market for cannabis products, changes in the expected outcomes of the proposed changes to Halo's operations, delays in obtaining required licenses or approvals necessary for the build-out of Oregon operations, dispensaries or Canadian operations, the proposed spin-out with Halo Tek Inc., delays or unforeseen costs incurred in connection with construction, the ability of competitors to scale operations in Northern California, delays or unforeseen difficulties in connection with the cultivation and harvest of Halo's rawmaterial, changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; and the other risks disclosed in the Corporation's annual information form dated March 31, 2022 and other disclosure documents available on the Corporation's profile at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Halo does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to Halo or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.

Non-Solicitation

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/159125