Leamington, Ont., Canada-based Tilray Brands, a leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company, has entered into a definitive agreement to pay $85 million in cash to acquire eight beer and beverage brands from Anheuser-Busch. The brands include Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, 10 Barrel Brewing Company, Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Company, and HiBall Energy.
The purchase also includes production facilities in Portland, Ore.; Bend, Ore.; Littleton, Colo.; and Patchogue, N.Y., which will provide Tilray with additional manufacturing capacity and innovation capabilities for commercial expansion opportunities.
The acquisition is expected triple in size Tilray’s beer business, from 4 million cases to 12 million cases annually. The expected sales volume of the acquired brands will make Tilray Brands the fifth-largest craft beer business in the U.S. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
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Tilray Brands also has acquired from Molson Coors the remaining 57.5% stake of Truss Beverage, a cannabis-infused drinks maker, which it did not own. With the purchase, Tilray will increase its THC beverage market position and streamline its sales and distribution.
“In addition to acquiring full and direct ownership of a stable of high-growth brands, this acquisition further strengthens Tilray’s #1 cannabis market share position in Canada and positions the company at the forefront of the adult-use beverage sector,” says Blair MacNeil, president, Tilray Canada. “We are excited to build upon our leading portfolio of beloved cannabis brands and to further diversify our product offerings while broadening our consumer reach and enhancing consumers’ lives.”