Major NHL sponsor BioSteel, manufacturer and retailer of sports energy drinks, has filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the United States.
From CBC:
The owner of sports drink company BioSteel says it has filed for creditor protection in the U.S. and Canada and is trying to find a buyer for the business.
Ontario-based Canopy Growth, the largest cannabis company in North America, said in a news statement Thursday that it has ceased funding BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc., and that BioSteel has commenced proceedings under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
Companies undergo CCAA when they seek a court's help to protect them from their creditors to ensure orderly proceedings while they either restructure or wind down operations. Alongside the Canadian CCAA proceedings, the company will also undergo creditor protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code.
BioSteel was founded in Toronto in 2009 by entrepreneur John Celenza and then-NHLer Mike Cammalleri. It grew quickly in large part thanks to marketing deals with several dozen NHL, NBA and NFL teams, as well as notable athletes including Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, John Tavares and recent No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard — all of whom attended a recent Biosteel-branded training camp together.
The company was eventually taken over by Canopy Growth in 2019, as part of a plan by the cannabis company to diversify its products into more beverages. That hasn't quite panned out as planned.
Since the takeover, Canopy has spent about $366 million on BioSteel, and the company currently burns through about $15 million in cash every month, court filings show.
- CBC
As stated above, BioSteel has sponsorship agreements with NHL superstars Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor Bedard and John Tavares. They also have a much larger sponsorship agreement with the NHL and NHLPA and sponsor the pre-season BioSteel Training Camp in Toronto each September.
