Tilray Brands has closed its acquisition of eight Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) beverage brands, including seven craft beer brands.
The all-cash acquisition closed September 29 and includes Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing, Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider and previously discontinued Hiball Energy.
Tilray and A-B announced the deal on August 7, with an initial purchase price of $85 million. The final purchase price was $83.4 million in cash, according to an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Tilray, a Canadian cannabis firm, also filed a credit agreement with Bank of America to borrow $20 million to fund part of the purchase, according to the filing.
The deal includes the breweries and brewpubs associated with the brands, according to a press release. The acquired facilities include four production facilities (Portland and Bend, Oregon; Littleton, Colorado; and Patchogue, New York) and eight brewpubs across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and New York.
The craft beer brands join Tilray’s existing beer portfolio that includes SweetWater Brewing, Montauk Brewing, Alpine Beer Company and Green Flash. The combined annual production output of the 11 breweries would make Tilray the fifth-largest craft brewery in the U.S., and increase its share of the U.S. craft beer market to 5%, according to the release.
“With this EBITDA accretive transaction, Tilray has acquired a stellar lineup of eight craft beer and beverage brands that both solidify our leadership in the craft beer industry and strengthen our business in the expansive beverage sector in which we see tremendous opportunity to reinvigorate innovation across many categories including non-alcoholic beverages, energy, and nutritional drinks,” Tilray chairman and CEO Irwin Simon said in the release. “Together with our best-in-class team, I am confident that we will successfully integrate our current beer assets with these newly acquired brands and businesses to set the stage for higher growth.”
Tilray estimates its new portfolio will generate $250 million in pro-forma revenue, with beer sales volume tripling from four million cases to 12 million cases (more than 870,000 barrels), according to the release.
Tilray’s other brands include Breckenridge Distillery, light lager beer Good Supply, Truss Beverage Co. (NA cannabis beverages) and Happy Floor CBD (sparkling NA cocktails).
Brewbound spoke to Simon shortly after the acquisitions were announced. At the time, Simon said a full integration of the new brands is expected to be complete by the end of Tilray’s fiscal year (May 2024).
“We are incredibly excited to welcome these iconic brands and the teams behind them to the Tilray Beer business,” Tilray Beer president Ty Gilmore said in the release. “These brands command great consumer loyalty and have a history of delivering strong award-winning products with tremendous growth opportunities.
“Tilray is fully committed to invest in and champion the future of the U.S. craft beer industry by fueling innovation and by reinvigorating our marketing, to excite and further accelerate the growth of our consumer base and drive new opportunities of growth and profitability for Tilray and our distributor partners,” Gilmore continued.
Gilmore will join the Brewbound team on stage in December at the Brewbound Live business conference in Marina del Rey. During the fireside chat, Gilmore will discuss the recent beverage acquisitions and Tilray’s overall craft and M&A strategy.