Tilray Brands Completes £33m BrewDog Acquisition in Major Craft Beer Shake-Up

New York-headquartered Tilray Brands has finalised its takeover of BrewDog in a £33 million deal that will see the American drinks giant assume control of the Scottish brewer’s intellectual property, its UK production operations, and a portfolio of 11 brewpub venues across the UK and Ireland.

In total, the transaction preserves 733 jobs in the UK, where BrewDog employees will follow a TUPE process to become employees of Tilray Brands UK Ltd, however thirty-eight BrewDog bars have closed as a direct consequence of the deal, resulting in the loss of 484 jobs across the business.
Separate negotiations are understood to be ongoing regarding BrewDog’s operations in the United States and Australia, with those discussions expected to conclude within 30 days.

Joint administrators AlixPartners confirmed the closure of 38 bars across the UK, most of which are in England.

It added that no offer was made at any stage of the sales process, from any prospective bidder, which would have preserved BrewDog in its entirety.

Irwin D. Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tilray Brands, stated, “BrewDog is 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.

“What makes BrewDog truly special has always been its brewers, its brewpubs and its passionate community of beer fans. 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.”

Mr. Simon continued, “Tilray’s management brings operational and strategic expertise, a diversified global beverage infrastructure and a disciplined investment approach needed to unlock BrewDog’s next phase of growth. In addition, my team and I have significant experience in the UK market where we previously built an ~ $1.5 billion consumer packaged goods business at my prior company with beloved brands, including Ella’s Kitchen, Hartleys, Tilda, New Covent Garden and Linda McCartney.

Under the terms of the transaction, Tilray paid £33 million in exchange for BrewDog’s worldwide intellectual property, UK brewing operations and a portfolio of eleven premier and profitable brewpubs including Birmingham, Canary Wharf, Dogtap Ellon, Dublin, Edinburgh DogHouse, Lothian Road, Manchester, Paddington, Seven Dials, Tower Hill, and Waterloo.

List of Brewdog Closures with immediate effect:

England (29)

Basingstoke
Bath
Bournemouth
Bristol – Baldwin Street, Harbourside
Cambridge
Cardiff
Carlisle
Cheltenham
Exeter
London – Soho, Camden Road, Chancery Lane, Clerkenwell, Ealing, Hammersmith, Seething Lane, Tower Bridge, Wandsworth
Liverpool
Manchester – DogHouse Manchester, Manchester Outpost
Milton Keynes
Newcastle
Norwich
Nottingham
Plymouth
Reading
Southampton

Scotland (9)

Aberdeen – Castlegate, Union Square
Edinburgh – Cowgate
Glasgow – Merchant City, Argyle Street
Inverurie
Perth
St Andrews
Stirling