Former BrewDog CEO Launches Company Takeover Bid

At the height of the business, BrewDog operated approximately 100 pubs worldwide, with a combined revenue of US$1bn.

Despite this success, prior to its acquisition by Tilray Brands in early 2026, the company financially collapsed, resulting in hundreds of job cuts across the entire business.

Co-Founder James Watt has since made a formal offer to buy back the business from Tilray and has offered investors in BrewDog’s “Equity for Punks” scheme, a crowdfunding initiative that offers small investors the chance to own equity, shares “for free” if his takeover bid is successful.

In a post on LinkedIn, James discussed his proposal, saying: “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.”

Investors have remained sceptical about the potential over this deal and the talk of free shares, after the 20,000 people who first invested in the scheme in 2009 saw their shares lose all value following the firm’s failure.

Following James’s departure as CEO

After leaving BrewDog, James launched a new beer brand, called Second Best. He offered nearly 20% of shares to people who lost money on their investments with Equity for Punks.

In an email to investors who signed up to the Second Best offer, James said he had made an offer to buy back BrewDog.

“If successful, everyone who has signed up to Second Best will own the same stake in BrewDog they once held. For free,” James said.

He added that the firm “should be owned by the equity punks” and that he will ensure that happens.

‘Mistakes’ and company controversies

James recently apologised to staff and investors for the “many mistakes” made during his time as CEO of the company, admitting that it tried to diversify too quickly.

In 2024, the company also faced public criticism after it announced it would no longer hire new staff on the UK real living wage, instead opting for the lower legal minimum wage.

Following the backlash, a BBC Disclosure investigation uncovered claims of misconduct, with staff alleging that James had acted inappropriately towards them.

James later denied any wrongdoing and threatened to sue the BBC for defamation.

Amid the period of fallout, sales growth at BrewDog slowed to a halt and the company reported its fifth consecutive annual loss of £36.7m (US$49.6m) for 2024.

It remains unclear whether Tilray has any interest in selling the business months after completing the acquisition.

James attempted to buy back the firm after its financial collapse, but was ultimately outbid by Tilray, which acquired the company's core assets in a deal worth about £33m (US$44.6m).