Anheuser-Busch is selling off eight craft beer brands as the Bud Light boycott continues to tank the company.
Tilray Brands, the largest cannabis company in the world, will be purchasing the beer brands, which include Red Hook, Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, 10 Barrel Brewing Company, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Company, and HiBall Energy.
The company is reportedly paying Anheuser-Busch $85 million in cash.
The purchase will make the marijuana company the fifth-largest craft brewer and the fifteenth-largest overall brewer in the United States, according to a report from Forbes. The transactions will include the brand’s associated breweries, brewpubs, and current employees.
“With this transaction, our beer business is expected to triple in size from 4 million cases to 12 million cases annually,” Ty Gilmore, president of U.S. Beer at Tilray Brands, told Forbes. “Looking ahead, we will further capitalize on the potential of these brands through product innovation, retailer partnerships, and expanded distribution into key markets, including the Pacific Northwest and California.”
Last month, Anheuser-Busch announced that they are laying off approximately 2 percent of their US workforce as boycotts against the company show no signs of slowing down.
Anheuser-Busch has reported revenue falling by $395 million in North America during the second quarter compared to the same time a year ago.
Bud Light sales have fallen nearly 30 percent since last year.
The right has been boycotting the company since April when Bud Light partnered with TikTok influencer and transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney — and the left began boycotting them shortly after for not sufficiently defending the social media star from the backlash.
The protest over the company’s “woke” business decision was so effective that Modelo Especial has now dethroned Bud Light to become the nation’s top-selling beer.shock
