On Tuesday, global consumer goods company Tilray announced its deal to acquire four craft breweries from Molson Coors Beverage Company. The roster includes Oregon’s Hop Valley Brewing Company, Georgia’s Terrapin Beer Company, Michigan’s Atwater Brewery, and Texas’ Revolver Brewing. The deal is expected to close later this month, according to Brewbound.
The deal will help Tilray grow its distribution network and its share in crucial markets like the Pacific Northwest. The company’s hope, according to a press release, is that these acquisitions will allow it to continue expanding and growing in the beverage industry at large. This acquisition will bring Tilray’s craft brewery count up to 20.
“We are excited to welcome the employees and distributors behind these craft beer brands which will play a pivotal role in the growth of Tilray Beverages,” president of Tilray Beverages North America Ty Gilmore said in the release. “Through this acquisition, our beer business is expected to grow to 15 million cases annually, cementing Tilray Beverages as the no. 1 craft brewer in the Pacific Northwest, no. 1 in Georgia and anchors Tilray’s craft brands in two key beer states, Texas and Michigan.”
On the other side of the handshake, Molson Coors representatives claim that the deal supports the conglomerate’s long-term goals, too.
“Last Fall, we set a clear portfolio premiumization ambition, and achieving it is going to require tighter focus on the segments we believe have the highest growth potential for our business,” Molson Coors chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques said in the release. “While we love these craft breweries and the people behind them, this move allows us to do exactly that – focus our time, energy and resources behind the initiatives we believe will best help us meaningfully grow our U.S. above premium portfolio in beer and beyond beer.”
Tilray began its brewery acquisition push in 2020 when it bought out Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing. The following year, the corporation scooped up San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing Company and California’s Alpine Beer Company. In 2022, Tilray bought New York’s Montauk Brewing Company, and in August 2023, it acquired a whopping eight breweries from Anheuser-Busch. Although many found the $85-million deal with AB a bit strange at the time, Tilray CEO Irwin Simon was resoundingly confident about the acquisition, claiming at a 2023 earnings conference that “craft beer is cool, and will become cooler.”
The price tag of the Tilray-Molson Coors deal was not disclosed.