VICTORIA, British Columbia, Nov. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSXV:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) ("Emerald" or the "Company") announces that Emerald Health Sciences Inc. ("Sciences"), a shareholder of the Company, will provide investor relations and strategic communications services to the Company and that it has also engaged Ray Lagace ("Lagace") to provide investor relations and strategic communication services to the Company, each subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

The Company entered into an independent contractor agreement (the "Agreement") with Sciences on May 1, 2015, which agreement has been subsequently amended, pursuant to which Sciences provides management services to the Company for a monthly fee. Effective immediately, Sciences will also provide certain investor relations and strategic communications services to the Company as part of the services provided under the Agreement and no additional fee will be payable by the Company to Sciences for such services. The key persons providing the investor relations services will be Bernie Hertel ("Hertel") and Duncan Clokie ("Clokie") on behalf of Sciences.

Ray Lagace (Waschilowski) has been engaged for an initial term of one year and will be entitled to receive a monthly fee of $7,500. The agreement can be renewed by mutual agreement and may be terminated by either party upon 15 days' notice. In addition, the Company has agreed to a one-time grant of options to purchase up to 100,000 shares of the Company. The options shall be subject to the applicable policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Company issued an aggregate of 500,000 incentive stock options to the incoming CEO of the Company and an aggregate of 300,000 incentive stock options to Hertel and Lagace (together, the "Options"). The Options are exercisable for a period of five years at a price equal to the closing price of the common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on the date before the issuance. The Options granted to the incoming CEO and Lagace will vest over three years with 25% vesting on the date of grant and 25% on each of the first three anniversaries of the date of grant, provided that the CEO and Lagace are continuing to provide services to the Company on the date of each vesting increment. The Options granted to Hertel will vest monthly over two years with 25% vesting on the date of grant and 6,250 vesting on the 29^th of each month for the following twenty four months. The Options have been granted pursuant to the Company's Omnibus Incentive Plan which has been previously approved by the Company's shareholders and the TSX Venture Exchange.

Sciences currently holds 45,636,555 common shares of the Company and 8,489,451 common share purchase warrants representing approximately 53% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a partially-diluted basis (assuming the full exercise of the warrants).

Hertel currently holds 14,600 common shares of the Company representing less than 1% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company and has no other direct or indirect interest in the securities of the Company, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest except pursuant to the exercise of the above referenced Options.

Lagace and Clokie currently have no direct or indirect interest in the securities of the Company, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest except pursuant to the exercise of the above referenced Options.

The provision by Sciences of investor relations activities to the Company, the appointment of Lagace as an investor relations consultant and the granting of the Options remains subject to regulatory acceptance of applicable filings with the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc.

Please visit https://www.emeraldhealth.ca/ for more information.

"Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

Contact Information:  [email protected]