BrewDog, the well-known craft beer brand, has been acquired by a US-based brewing and cannabis company as part of a £33 million rescue package. This move aims to stabilize the financially troubled brand.
Tilray, a company that holds several craft breweries across the United States, has purchased various BrewDog assets, including its brewing operations in the UK. Consequently, 11 of BrewDog’s pub locations throughout the UK and Ireland will continue to operate.
However, BrewDog has announced that 38 bars not covered by the deal are slated to shut down, resulting in the loss of 484 jobs.
Separate negotiations are underway by Tilray to acquire specific BrewDog assets in the United States and Australia.
Based in Scotland, BrewDog is known for its craft beers like Punk IPA and Elvis Juice. The company temporarily closed its pubs on Monday while finalizing the acquisition details.
Irwin D. Simon, chairman and CEO of Tilray Brands, expressed his admiration for BrewDog, describing it as “one of the most iconic, mission-driven craft beer brands in the UK.”
‘It helped redefine modern craft beer through bold innovation, fearless creativity and an unwavering commitment to great beer.
‘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.’
BrewDog has been sold to a US brewer and cannabis group as part of a £33 million deal to save the troubled craft beer brand (File image)
BrewdDog founder and former CEO James Watt married Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo last year
The buyout comes after a last ditch attempt from BrewDog’s founder James Watt to rescue the brand fell through earlier today.
Watt, who calls himself the ‘world’s worst boss’ and is married to reality TV star Georgia Toffolo, had been preparing to pile £10million of his own money into an attempt to buy back the Scottish company.
However, sources close to the deal later said the bid, which was announced when the brewery was put on the market last month, had fallen through.
BrewDog temporarily shut all 60 of its branches across the UK today while a series of meetings were held to discuss a potential sale.
Chief executive James Taylor told staff in an email the closures were to allow employees to attend meetings and to comply with licensing issues.
He said: ‘We appreciate this is an unsettling time for everyone, and we want to ensure that all colleagues have the opportunity to hear directly from us about what happens next.
‘We will therefore be holding a series of company-wide All Hands calls tomorrow (Monday) for all employees across the whole business. These will be scheduled tomorrow.
‘To enable everyone to attend, and to comply with licensing issues arising from an anticipated change of ownership, we have taken the decision that none of our bars will open tomorrow (Monday). All sites will remain closed for the day.
‘We have also cancelled food and beer deliveries, as well as customer bookings, for that day.’
Mr Watt (pictured) stepped down as BrewDog CEO in May 2024
Martin Dickie and James Watt (pictured right) founded BrewDog in 2007
Mr Watt stepped down as BrewDog CEO in May 2024 following a series of allegations about the work culture and his behaviour in the role, but retains a 22 per cent stake in the business.
Insiders previously said Mr Watt had told prospective partners he would contribute around £10million of his personal wealth to a potential buyout.
His proposal came amid concerns that more than 200,000 people who ploughed their own money into BrewDog could lose out if the company is sold.
The company’s so-called ‘Equity For Punks’ scheme enabled beer lovers to own a tiny slice of the brewery and enjoy discounts and other perks.
The company raised around £75million overall from the sale of shares to customers between 2009 and 2021.
BrewDog was founded in 2007 by Mr Watt and Martin Dickie who frequently courted controversy with the brand’s marketing campaigns.
In 2017, TSG Consumer Partners took a 21 per cent stake in BrewDog in a deal which implied a unicorn valuation of at least $1billion.
Since then, however, BrewDog has continued to face mounting losses, closing a string of bars and axing chunks of its workforce.
Last year, the company lost £37million on turnover of £357million.
