BrewDog's Sale Yields a New Owner — At Least for Part of It

Last month brought with it news that BrewDog was seeking a new buyer — and that a potential sale could involve the end of the company as it currently exists. This week, we learned just who BrewDog’s new owners would be and what it could mean for the company going forward.

BrewDog’s new parent company is Tilray, which first made a name for itself as a cannabis company and has been expanding its presence in other markets in recent years. In 2023, Tilray acquired a number of breweries from Anheuser-Busch, including Red Hook, Shock Top and 10 Barrel. As VinePair’s Stephen Bradley pointed out in an article on the latest acquisition, the amount that Tilray paid for BrewDog — $44 million — represents a substantial drop from multiple valuations that described the company as being worth over $1 billion.

That said, Tilray’s purchase of BrewDog was not for the entire company. According to Tilray’s announcement, the purchase price revealed today covered “the global brand and related intellectual property, the U.K. brewing operations and 11 strategic brewpubs in the United Kingdom and Ireland.” Tilray is currently still negotiating over the cost of “certain BrewDog assets in the United States and Australia.”

In a statement, Tilray CEO Irwin D. Simon described the purchase as part of a larger effort to increase the company’s presence in the beverage world. “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,” he said. “On a combined basis, we expect Tilray’s diversified global business to reach ~$1.2 billion in annualized revenue.”

BrewDog Faces Existential Challenges in 2026

The company is reportedly exploring a sale

Still, some big questions remain, including the fate of BrewDog’s operations in the U.S. and Australia. As The Guardian‘s Rob Davies reported, the purchase of BrewDog (or BrewDog’s assets) will also result in 500 of the company’s employees being out of work. AlixPartners, which handled the sale, also told The Guardian that investors in BrewDog’s “equity for punks” campaign will not be compensated. BrewDog’s beers may be tasty, but the cumulative effect of this news might well leave a bad taste in your mouth.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…