NEW YORK (AP) — Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan are at different ends of their marathon careers.
Kipchoge, who turns 41 next week, is wrapping up a historic run as one of the most accomplished marathoners in the sport, while the 32-year-old Hassan is in the prime of her career, coming off a victory at Sydney two months ago.
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FILE - Runners pass through a water station during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith, File)
FILE - In is a Nov. 6, 2005, file photo, runners cross the upper level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn at the start of the New York City Marathon in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Sifan Hassan, of the Netherlands, celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the gold medal at the end of the women's marathon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the line to win the men's division of the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, FILE_
The two are taking on the New York Marathon for the first time Sunday, with Hassan looking to pull off the incredible double after winning in Australia.
To accomplish that feat, the Dutch star will have to beat the last three champions Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya (2024) , Hellen Obiri (2023) and Sharon Lokedi (2022), who set the Boston Marathon course record in April.
“I have respect for the course which I haven’t done,” Hassan said. “I have big respect for the athletes going to run with me. I’m not going to say I’m going to win, it’s very hard.”
Hassan has the best time of the group, running a personal best 2 hours, 13.44 minutes at the Chicago Marathon in 2023, but she'll have to deal with the 26.2-mile course that is full of bridges and hills.
“I remember last year after Paris it made me so scared of how hard this course (is)," said Hassan, who broke the Olympic record in the marathon last year. “I wasn’t ready last year.”
This is Hassan's first trip to the city and she knows how she'll celebrate after finishing the race — by having her “first slice of New York pizza.”
U.S. record holder Emily Sisson and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel are the top Americans in the field. An American woman hasn't won the race since Shalane Flanagan did it in 2017. It's been 16 years since an American man won.
Kipchoge sees New York as a victory lap after his illustrious career in which he's won 11 major marathons and set two world records. His last major marathon victory came in Berlin in 2023.
“I’m really saying thank you because this is the only way that I can do that," he said.
He has spent the last few days in New York and has been running around iconic Central Park, where the race finishes.
“Going down the streets everyone is happy, it's a beautiful (running) culture,” he said. “I realized that over a million people run in Central Park every year.”
Kipchoge will be part of a strong men's field that includes defending champion Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands. He's looking to be the first repeat winner since Geoffrey Mutai in 2011 and 2013. The 2012 race was cancelled because of Superstorm Sandy.
“It would be a dream come true, but I know how tough this race course is,” Nageeye said. “This is my fifth time (running it), every time was different then I expected. It would be amazing if that happens.”
Nageeye said that he'll wait to see how the race unfolds before figuring out his strategy.
“Each race is different, a few kilometers in you get a feel for what might happen,” the 36-year-old runner said.
He could have to contend with 2024 London Marathon winner Alexander Mutiso and Albert Korir, who won New York in 2021.
Marcel Hug, known as the Silver Bullet, returns to New York looking for his seventh victory in the wheelchair division. He most recently won in 2023. Defending champion Daniel Romanchuk isn't competing this year because of a shoulder injury he suffered at the Sydney Marathon. Susannah Scaroni will look to defend her title.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Runners pass through a water station during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bryan R. Smith, File)
FILE - In is a Nov. 6, 2005, file photo, runners cross the upper level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn at the start of the New York City Marathon in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Sifan Hassan, of the Netherlands, celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the gold medal at the end of the women's marathon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
FILE - Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the line to win the men's division of the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, FILE_
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 24, 2025--
Cizzle Brands Corporation (Cboe Canada: CZZL ) (the “ Company ” or “ Cizzle ”) is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition (the “ Acquisition ”) of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Flow Water Inc. (the “ Target ”) from RI Flow Sub LLC (the “ Vendor ”).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251224294157/en/
The Acquisition was completed pursuant to the terms of a definitive share purchase agreement, whereby Cizzle Brands Acquisition Inc. (“ AcquireCo ”), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Target for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $83.75 million (the “ Purchase Price ”), subject to customary post-closing adjustments. As described below, the Purchase Price was funded through a comprehensive financing package, including a senior secured credit facility from Orion Infrastructure Capital (“ OIC ”), together with a vendor take-back loan from the Vendor and two concurrent non-brokered private placements.
Immediately prior to completion of the Acquisition, certain assets relating to the Target’s branded consumer packaged goods business, including brand-related intellectual property and trademarks, were transferred out of the Target to a company owned by the Vendor (who will continue to operate that business under the Flow brand). As a result, under Cizzle's ownership, the Target will focus exclusively on its established and profitable beverage co-manufacturing business (the “ Manufacturing Business ”). Following the Acquisition, Cizzle will change the name of the Target to Cizzle Brands Manufacturing Inc. and its manufacturing facility in Aurora, Ontario will become known as the CWENCH Hydration Factory.
All dollar amounts in this news release are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.
Financial Impact and Revenue Contribution
Based on the Company’s post-transaction pro forma consolidated financial information, the Acquisition is expected to immediately add meaningful scale to Cizzle’s revenue base.
On a pro forma basis, the Manufacturing Business is expected to contribute approximately $21.5 million of revenue in the second half of fiscal 2026 and approximately $46.5 million of revenue in fiscal 2027.
As a result, the combined Company is expected to generate pro forma consolidated revenue of approximately $41 million in fiscal 2026 and approximately $75 million in fiscal 2027, with additional synergies anticipated to further drive profitability.
Strategic Rationale
The Acquisition materially accelerates Cizzle’s path to profitability and strengthens its long-term operating platform. Specifically, the Acquisition:
Management Commentary
“To say that this transaction is a pivotal moment in Cizzle’s history would be an understatement,” said John Celenza, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cizzle Brands Corporation. “By acquiring Flow’s manufacturing business, we are adding a substantial and profitable manufacturing platform that immediately increases revenue, improves margins, and materially accelerates our path to sustainable cash flow. Just as importantly, we now control a critical part of our value chain, which positions us to support the continued growth of CWENCH and future brands with far greater efficiency. With Tetra Pak capacity in North America being quite scarce, this acquisition allows us to immediately become an industry leader in sustainable and eco-friendly packaging in the Tetra format.”
Transaction Structure, Financing and Strategic Investment
To fund the Acquisition and post-closing working capital, the Company completed a comprehensive financing package comprised of:
OIC Loan
Under the OIC Loan, OIC provided a senior secured credit facility to AcquireCo, in an aggregate principal amount of US$40 million with an additional drawdown of up to US$10 million available. The Credit Facility has a term of 5 years and bears interest at a rate of 12% per annum. The proceeds of the initial advance under the Credit Facility were used to partially fund the Acquisition. The Credit Facility includes customary covenants, events of default and restrictions, consistent with facilities of this nature. In connection with the OIC Loan, Cizzle also issued to OIC 7.5 million warrants to purchase common shares of Cizzle at a price of $0.40 per common share.
Vendor Take-back Loan
The VTB is a 1-year secured vendor promissory note with RI Flow Sub LLC in the principal amount of $22.25 million. The VTB bears interest at a rate of 12% per annum. The VTB is prepayable at any time, in whole or in part, without penalty.
Private Placements
The Private Placements consisted of:
Cliff Rucker, through RI CZL Investor LLC and the owner of RI Flow Sub LLC, participated as a lead investor in the equity financing, underscoring his conviction in the long-term potential of Cizzle following the completion of the Acquisition and his alignment with the Company’s post-transaction strategy.
Net proceeds from the Private Placements were used to fund the Acquisition and satisfy transaction-related obligations, and will provide incremental working capital for the combined operations. Finders’ fees, consisting of 500,000 common shares and 71,250 Units were paid to certain persons in respect of the Acquisition.
Advisors and Counsel
Bennett Jones LLP acted as legal advisor to Cizzle, and Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. acted as a financial advisor to Cizzle. Miller Thomson LLP acted as legal advisor to the Vendor in relation to the Acquisition. In connection with the Credit Facility, Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted as U.S. legal advisor to OIC and Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as Canadian legal advisor to OIC. Jenner & Block LLP acted as U.S. legal advisor to Cizzle in connection with the Credit Facility.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ U.S. Securities Act ”), or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or “U.S. Persons”, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.
About Cizzle Brands Corporation
Cizzle Brands Corporation is a sports nutrition company that is elevating the game in health and wellness. Through extensive collaboration and testing with leading athletes and trainers across several sports, Cizzle Brands has launched three game-changing brands: (i) CWENCH Hydration™, a better-for-you sports drink that is now carried in over 5,500 locations in Canada, the United States, and Europe; (ii) Spoken™ Nutrition, a premium brand of athlete-grade nutraceuticals that carry the prestigious NSF Certified for Sport® qualification; and (iii) HappiEats™, upgrading everyday eats with high-performance foods such as Sport Pasta™. All Cizzle Brands products are designed to help people of all ages achieve their best in competitive sports and in living a healthy, vibrant, active lifestyle.
For more information about Cizzle Brands, please visit: https://www.cizzlebrands.com/
For more information about CWENCH Hydration™, please visit: https://www.cwenchhydration.com
For more information about Spoken™ Nutrition, please visit: https://www.spokennutrition.com
For more information about HappiEats™, please visit https://www.myhappieats.com
About OIC
With approximately $6 billion in assets under management, OIC invests in North America and select international markets. OIC’s unique partnership approach – for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – cultivates creative credit, equity, and growth capital solutions to help middle market businesses scale and deploy sustainable infrastructure. OIC’s target investment sectors include energy efficiency, digital infrastructure, sustainable power generation, renewable fuels, waste & recycling, and transportation, storage & logistics. OIC was founded in 2015 by a team of energy and sustainability veterans, successful infrastructure investors, and former asset owners and industry operators. Across OIC’s platform is a team of approximately 50 professionals based in New York, Houston, and London.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
CIZZLE BRANDS CORPORATION
“John Celenza”
John Celenza, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, such as, but not limited to: expected financial results, new products of the Company and potential sales and distribution opportunities. Such forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company.
Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other risk factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks include risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, regulatory risks, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.
Cizzle Brands Corporation has acquired Flow Water Inc.’s lucrative co-manufacturing business in a transaction valued at approximately $83.75M.
