Branded Legacy Cleans House, Retiring $1M Debt Under New Leadership

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – December 29, 2025 – Branded Legacy, Inc. (OTC: BLEG), a company undergoing a radical transformation, today announced a pivotal step in its financial restructuring, successfully eliminating approximately $1 million in legacy convertible debt. The move, orchestrated by a new management team that took control just weeks ago, signals a decisive break from a troubled past and a strategic effort to rebuild shareholder value from the ground up.

The action is the first major financial maneuver under the leadership of Dr. Jamie Forrest, PhD, MPH, who acquired a controlling interest in the company on December 10, 2025. By tackling these historical obligations, the company aims to clean its balance sheet, mitigate significant dilution risk, and lay a more stable foundation for its ambitious new ventures in biotech and functional wellness.

A Decisive Break from the Past

The retired debt instruments were a holdover from previous management, representing a significant threat to the company's capital structure. Convertible debt allows creditors to convert their loans into company stock, often at a fixed, low price. For a micro-cap company like Branded Legacy, the execution of such conversions could have created a flood of new shares—potentially around 300 million, according to some analyses—severely diluting the value of existing shareholders' holdings.

According to the company, the new leadership team conducted “extensive due diligence and thorough research” to identify these burdensome instruments. Negotiations with the debt holders, who had reportedly already seen substantial returns on their initial investments, resulted in an agreement to retire the obligations on what the company described as “highly favorable terms.”

This isn't the first time Branded Legacy has addressed its debt load. In early 2024, prior management also retired a significant amount of debt to prevent conversions. However, this latest move is different; it is part of a complete corporate reset. Dr. Forrest’s acquisition of the control block led to a full replacement of the board and the divestment of all legacy subsidiaries, effectively wiping the slate clean.

The immediate impact is a healthier balance sheet and increased financial flexibility. By removing the liability and the looming threat of dilution, management can now focus on allocating capital toward its new operational goals without the weight of these past financial entanglements.

The Quest for Transparency and the 'Yield Sign'

Beyond the balance sheet, the new management has its sights set on a crucial symbol of market credibility: the removal of the 'Yield Sign' from its OTC Markets ticker. This icon, officially designating the company as providing “Limited Information,” serves as a caution sign for potential investors. It indicates that the company has not met the highest disclosure standards, with financial reports potentially being outdated or incomplete. For many brokers and institutional investors, the Yield Sign is a red flag that makes a stock difficult or impossible to trade.

Branded Legacy currently operates under the Alternative Reporting Standard, but the presence of the Yield Sign suggests past deficiencies in maintaining timely and complete information. The company is now actively working with OTC Markets Group to update its entire issuer profile. This includes providing new business descriptions, reflecting the change in officers and directors, and submitting all required disclosures to meet compliance standards.

Achieving the removal of this designation is a critical milestone. It would enhance transparency, improve the stock's liquidity, and make it accessible to a much broader base of investors. In its communication, the company has stressed a new policy of disclosing “only material events that have occurred,” aiming for clear, factual, and milestone-based updates—a direct response to the lack of clarity that plagued its past.

New Leadership, New Vision

The architect of this turnaround is Dr. Jamie Forrest, a global health researcher and strategy leader whose background is far from that of a typical corporate executive. A Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Forrest’s work focuses on digital misinformation, AI governance, and health technology innovation. His academic credentials and research focus signal a deep interest in structure, transparency, and evidence-based strategy.

Dr. Forrest stated that his move to acquire control of Branded Legacy was driven by dissatisfaction with the previous leadership's failure to execute on its plans and the deteriorating financial state of its subsidiaries. By purchasing the entire control block, he initiated a complete overhaul with the stated goal of protecting public shareholders and building a profitable, transparent company. His plan involves merging a completely new operating business into the clean public shell, with no ties to the company’s history.

From Hemp to Biotech and Kava Bars

So what will Branded Legacy become? Having shed its past identity, which was once focused on hemp and CBD-infused beverages, the company is pivoting toward a diversified portfolio in the health and wellness sector. Two key pillars have emerged from recent acquisitions.

The first is a push into biotechnology through its subsidiary, Bio Legacy Evaluative Group. This entity is actively developing a novel air-driven intranasal naloxone spray designed to treat acute opioid overdose. This positions Branded Legacy in the high-stakes, high-impact medical device sector, with a focus on life-saving innovation.

The second pillar is in functional wellness retail. The company recently acquired Pau Hana, a subsidiary that operates kava bars. Kava, a traditional Pacific Island beverage known for its relaxing effects, is part of a growing market for non-alcoholic social alternatives. Branded Legacy has announced an aggressive roll-up strategy for Pau Hana, aiming to acquire additional cash-flow-positive kava bars and open 3-5 new locations in Florida during 2026, with a goal of growing its retail footprint by 150% within the year.

This dual strategy—combining a long-term, high-potential biotech venture with a near-term, cash-flow-focused retail plan—appears to be the core of Dr. Forrest's new vision for the company.

Wall Street's Cautious Optimism

As a micro-cap stock trading for fractions of a penny, Branded Legacy operates in a volatile corner of the market. Its market capitalization has hovered under half a million dollars in recent months. However, the recent announcements have sparked a cautiously optimistic response from its small but dedicated base of retail investors.

Following the news, investor forums lit up with positive sentiment, with many seeing the debt retirement and management overhaul as a long-awaited move in the right direction. The stock saw a modest gain in the days leading up to the announcement, reflecting a growing belief that the company may finally be on a sustainable path.

Nonetheless, investors remain watchful. The success of this turnaround is far from guaranteed. The financial cleanup is a crucial and positive first step, but the ultimate test will be in the execution of the new business strategy. Whether the development of the naloxone spray can progress and if the kava bar roll-up can be achieved profitably will determine if Branded Legacy can finally create the sustainable shareholder value its new leadership has promised.