Tilray Brands is to pay £33m ($44.1m) for parts of BrewDog, including brands, UK brewing assets and 11 bars.
The US brewer and cannabis group said it remains in talks to buy “certain” – but undisclosed – BrewDog assets in the US and Australia.
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Last month, BrewDog hired AlixPartners to determine the possible interest in the loss-making business.
Just Drinks reported earlier today (2 March) that a deal was close. Scotland-based BrewDog, set up in 2007, shut its bars today as it looked to finalise a transaction.
Tilray chairman and CEO Irwin Simon said: “As we begin a new chapter for this great brand, our priority is to refocus BrewDog on the craft beer excellence that made it beloved in the first place and strategically invest to return the operations to profitable growth. BrewDog’s future is bright and we are committed to ensuring the brand continues to lead and inspire the global craft beer movement.”
Under the terms of the deal, Tilray has paid £33m in exchange for BrewDog’s worldwide intellectual property, UK brewing operations and 11 bars in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Dublin. Tilray is also taking on a bar in the Scottish town of Ellon, where BrewDog has a brewery.
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By GlobalDataAlixPartners confirmed 38 BrewDog bars in the UK will close.
The firm, which was appointed administrator to BrewDog’s UK entities, said the deal with Tilray “preserves” 733 jobs in the country but added the closure of the majority of the bars will lead to 484 redundancies.
Tilray said the “brewing and related operating assets” are expected to generate annual net revenue of around $200m and adjusted EBITDA of $6-8m.
The US-listed group expects the assets to become “cash-flow positive” from its 2027 financial year, which starts in June.
Tilray added: “The proposed US and Australia components of the acquisition will be subject to a separate purchase agreement to be negotiated by the parties and is expected to be finalised and closed in approximately 30 days.”
Tilray was formed in 2013 as a business focused on cannabis. The company listed on the Nasdaq five years later.
Cannabis accounts for around 30% of Tilray’s annual sales but is no longer the group’s largest revenue generator.
Tilray also makes pharmaceutical and hemp-based products and, in recent years, has moved to build a business in the drinks sector in part through M&A.
In 2023, the company snapped up brands in the US from Anheuser-Busch InBev and followed that transaction a year later with a deal for four Molson Coors Beverage Co. breweries in the country. Last month, Tilray announced a deal to brew for Carlsberg in the US.
The group distributes its beers and spirits in Europe but, until now, its investment in the region has centred on medical cannabis in markets including Germany.
Tilray said expanding its US drinks brands into international markets is “a strategic priority and a natural next phase of growth”.
The company said the deal will take the annual revenue it generates from drinks to around $500m and its total revenue to $1.2bn.
Buying BrewDog will speed up Tilray’s ability to enter new markets, the new owner said, through “scaled brewing capacity outside the US, an established international distribution network and a premier brewpub and hospitality infrastructure in the UK and select international markets”.
Simon added: “With the BrewDog acquisition, our total global beverage platform is expected to grow to circa $500m in annual revenue, creating one of the largest diversified craft beverage platforms globally. Through this expanded platform, we see significant growth opportunity for BrewDog through broader distribution and the ability to invest back into brand and innovation, while introducing Tilray’s complementary beverage brands into international markets.”
US private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners owned 21% of BrewDog after investing the brewer in 2017.
BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie were still shareholders, although Watt stepped down as CEO in 2024 and Dickie left the business last year.
In October, BrewDog cut an undisclosed number of jobs across its business, pointing “a tough and fast-changing market”.
In 2024, the Hazy Jane brewer generated a loss of £34.1m ($46.6m) compared to £62.7m the year prior.
The group ran up an operating loss of £19.6m, against one of £45.6m in 2023.
Net revenue was £280.2m, versus £280.9m the year before.
According to the accounts, lodged with Companies House, the UK business register, BrewDog generated just short of £254m of its net revenue in the UK during 2024.
The company announced in January it would close its spirits unit BrewDog Distilling Co. this year.
Just Drinks has approached BrewDog representatives for comment, including on which of the UK firm’s investors will be receiving proceeds from the deal.
Clare Kennedy, a partner and MD at AlixPartners, said: “As one would expect over the past two weeks, we have received significant interest in the BrewDog business from prospective buyers across both the trade and investment communities. In Tilray, we have secured a purchaser with a passion for craft brewing who will be an excellent custodian and sponsor of the business in the months and years ahead.”
