James Watt offers to buy back Brewdog
Brewdog founder James Watt has launched a bid to regain control of the craft beer firm he founded, just months after it was bought by a US rival.
The Scottish entrepreneur said on Wednesday that he has submitted a formal offer to buy Brewdog from Tilray Brands, the US cannabis and craft beer firm which now owns the pale ale maker.
This bid marks the latest twist in the dramatic Brewdog saga, which saw the craft beer firm sold for only £33m despite once fetching a £2bn valuation.
Watt has launched the bid through Second Best, a vehicle he set up to offer shares to thousands of “equity punks” who had bought shares in Brewdog but gained nothing from its eventual sale.
The craft beer founder claimed that he would give each of these investors back their stake in Brewdog. He also pledged to restore the Real Living Wage to the company’s workers and offer them shares in the business.
“The punks and the crew built this company and Brewdog deserves to belong to them once more,” Watt said.
Unnamed ‘partner’ co-funding bid
He said 43,000 of these investors have signed up to shares in the new company, which Watt had said would create its own beer brands before announcing its surprise play for Brewdog.
“If our bid is unsuccessful, [our] full focus is on Second Best. If we succeed, Second Best will exist as part of Brewdog,” he said.
Watt is self-funding the takeover bid alongside a “partner” who he declined to name.
He founded the business in 2007 alongside school friend Martin Dickie. The company’s rapid rise kickstarted the craft beer boom and was fueled by the investment of thousands of its customers.
Watt and Dickie both stepped away from the company in recent years after allegations – fiercely denied by the founders – of a toxic workplace and a “cult of personality” around Watt.
Watt ‘heartbroken’ after sale
Following the sale of Brewdog, Watt had written of his “heartbreak” at the brand’s downfall, claiming that he had narrowly missed out on a comeback bid for the company.
“I am heartbroken for all of the hard-working and passionate team members who have lost their jobs. I am heartbroken for all of our brilliant equity punks who did not get the return on their investment they wanted,” he wrote.
Tilray, the Nasdaq-listed firm which bought Brewdog in March, had announced plans to expand the brand across the UK, the US and Australia and return it to a $1bn valuation.
The sale caused the closure of 38 UK locations and nearly 484 staff.
Brewdog’s chief executive, James Taylor, quit the business last week after little more than a year in the role.
It is understood that Taylor will not be replaced with a new chief executive, with Tilray execs poised to run the business as part of the firm’s international operations.