Beer and cannabis firm Tilray Brands, Inc. of North America announced the acquisition of BrewDog Brewing Australia Pty Ltd., including BrewDog’s Australian brewing and production facility in Brisbane, Queensland, along with a portfolio of owned and franchised BrewDog bars across Australia.
This follows the news on March 2 that Tilray completed the acquisition of “certain highly strategic assets” of the Aberdeenshire-based craft beer company for £33 million. That deal will cost almost 500 jobs and leave many of BrewDog’s early-stage crowdfunders empty-handed.
Tilray said the March 2 deal included BrewDog’s “global brand and related intellectual property, the UK brewing operations and eleven strategic brewpubs in the United Kingdom and Ireland, for a total consideration of £33 million.”
On the Australia deal, Tilray Brands CEO Irwin Simon said: “The acquisition of BrewDog’s profitable Australian brewery operations and flagship bars represents another important milestone in advancing Tilray’s global beverage and consumer products strategy.
“Australia is a highly attractive craft beer market with a strong beer culture and serves as a strategic gateway to the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region.
“Together with our recently announced acquisition of BrewDog’s profitable UK operations, this transaction further expands Tilray’s international brewing footprint and strengthens our scaled global beverage platform.
“BrewDog’s brewing capabilities, production infrastructure, and hospitality locations in Australia provide a strong operational base to invest in the brand’s next chapter, while also creating a strategic hub to introduce Tilray’s portfolio of leading U.S. beverage brands across the Asia-Pacific region.”
The acquisition includes two owned BrewDog bar locations in Brisbane — DogTap Brisbane and BrewDog Fortitude Valley, as well as three franchised BrewDog locations in Pentridge (Victoria), South Eveleigh (New South Wales), and Perth (Western Australia).
Rajnish Ohri, President, International, Tilray Brands, said: “We’re excited to welcome the BrewDog Australia team to Tilray Brands. They bring strong brewing expertise, experienced local leadership, and a deep connection to the Australian craft beer community.
“From an operational standpoint, this acquisition gives us a strong foundation in a key market and an important hub for our international beverage and consumer products business.
“Together with the BrewDog team, we will focus on growing the brand locally while leveraging our brewing, distribution, and commercial capabilities to expand BrewDog across Australia’s national retail chain footprint and introduce Tilray’s broader beverage portfolio across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, including key markets such as Japan.”