American wellness and beverage alcohol group Tilray Brands is the new owner of BrewDog’s UK brewing business and 11 pubs including the DogTap in Ellon, and the DogHouse in Edinburgh. The news came just hours after BrewDog entered administration.
Administrators AlixPartners sold “certain highly strategic assets” of BrewDog’s business, including the global brand and IP, the Scottish brewer’s UK brewing operations and 11 brewpubs in the UK and Ireland, for £33m. A further 38 pubs were closed with immediate effect and 484 people were made redundant.
The deal left BrewDog’s crowdfunded ‘equity punk’ shareholders with no return.
Irwin D. Simon, chairman and chief executive officer of Tilray Brands, said, “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.”
Clare Kennedy, partner and managing director 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.”
Tilray said it is separately negotiating to acquire certain BrewDog assets in the United States and Australia, under a separate purchase agreement which it expects to be finalised and closed in around 30 days.
Tilray’s announcement said Jefferies acted as financial adviser, and Proskauer Rose acted as external legal counsel to Tilray Brands.
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