Craft Beer "Punks" BrewDog Announce $1.24 Billion Valuation, Partial Acquisition by Equity Firm
BrewDog has done it again, and by “it” we mean make headlines with a business move involving a large sum of money.
BrewDog, the self-proclaimed "infamous" craft brewers known for all manner of media stunts, made another shocking announcement last week: 23 percent of the Scottish craft brewing company has been acquired by an investment firm for $264 million, valuing BrewDog at $1.24 billion.
The news broke last Tuesday, April 11, via an announcement from BrewDog, along with the following details:
● A $264 million transaction took place between BrewDog and TSG Consumer Partners, an equity investor in high-growth consumer brands.
● $124 million of that sum will fund BrewDog’s continued global expansion.
● $140 million (or “the balance”) will provide for early shareholder liquidity.
● 95 percent of Equity Punks, or BrewDog’s consumer-level investors, voted in favor of the terms at a meeting held on March 29, 2017.
● At a $1.2 billion valuation, shares purchased in Equity for Punks I (which closed in February 2010) are now worth 2,765 percent of their original value.
● Shares purchased in Equity for Punks IV (which closed in April 2016) are now worth 177 percent of their original value over the course of one year.
Other brands that have sold equity to TSG Consumer Partners, a San Francisco-based equity firm that has successfully invested in more than 70 companies, according to the announcement, include vitaminwater, thinkThin, and popchips. According to BrewBound, other investments include Pabst and Sweetwater Brewing.
TSG managing director Blythe Jack said BrewDog was a natural fit.
“BrewDog is an ideal fit for TSG's mission, which is to partner with visionary founders building next-generation consumer brands. The company is truly a pioneer and leader in the rapidly emerging international craft beer market. We look forward to working with BrewDog and its founders as it continues to innovate, expand, and harness a unique rebellious energy."
James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog (whom we sat down with in November to discuss the swiftly negated announcement that the brewery planned to gamble its equity in a double-or-nothing roulette game) believes the partnership with TSG Consumer Partners complements BrewDog’s crowdfunding model, Equity for Punks.
Read more at Source: Men's Journal
