BrewDog founder and former CEO James Watt has launched a new bid to seize back control of the Scottish beer business, just months after its distressed sale to US pharmaceutical giant Tilray Brands.
Writing on LinkedIn, Watt said his new beer business, Second Best, had submitted a formal offer to Tilray to buy back the brewery he founded alongside Martin Dickie in 2007.
Watt claimed that, if successful, he would restore the equity stakes of the 43,000 former ‘Equity Punks’ that had so far registered to be part of Second Best.
He also pledged to restore the real living wage across the BrewDog business, a move he said would “put the community back at the heart of the business”.
“We have formally submitted our offer to buy BrewDog,” Watt said. “The offer was made by Second Best and sent to Tilray Brands. 43,000 Equity Punks have already joined the bid.
“If we succeed, every registered punk gets their BrewDog equity back, for free. We’d also restore the real living wage, bring back the team’s equity, and put the community back at the heart of the business.
“The punks and the crew built this company and BrewDog deserves to belong to them once more.”
Terms of the deal submitted to Tilray for the business have not been disclosed, although a report in The Times said the offer was in excess of £30m.
Tilray paid an initial £33m to acquire the global IP and UK arm of BrewDog out of administration in March of this year, before subsequently striking deals for parts of BrewDog’s operations in the US and Australia.
James Watt’s BrewDog heartbreak
Watt was unsuccessful in a previous attempt to buy back BrewDog prior to its pre-pack sale to Tilray, later describing himself as “heartbroken” by the loss of nearly 500 jobs of former BrewDog staff.
“I am heartbroken for all of the hard-working and passionate team members who have lost their jobs,” Watt said. “I am heartbroken for all of our brilliant equity punks who did not get the return on their investment they wanted. And heartbroken to have dedicated the best 20 years of my life to something that ultimately did not have the ending we all wished for.”
He stepped down as CEO of BrewDog in 2024 but remained a director until earlier this year.
He has since launched Second Best, pledging to give away around 20% of the shares in the new business to retail investors wiped out by BrewDog’s collapse.
Announcing Second Best in May, Watt said: “Thousands of people trusted me to build a brilliant beer business and create value for them. It was an obligation I took very seriously. And I, for one, am not done with that obligation.”
Second Best is yet to launch, with Watt claiming the brand would enter the market as soon as it had “all the relevant licensed and legal consents in place”.
A Tilray spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation. We’re very happy and excited about BrewDog’s business worldwide.”
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