BrewDog is planning ANOTHER 'punk' crowdfunding campaign to expand to the US
The 8-year old brewery, known for beers like Punk IPA and lavish PR stunts like dropping stuffed cats from a helicopter, is planning to pump $30.4 million (£19.3 million) into constructing a 100,000 sq ft site in Canal Winchester, located in the Columbus Region of Ohio.
The brewery will open next year and Brewdog is hoping to produce 852,000 barrels of beer at the site within 3 years.
To fund the ambitious project BrewDog is planning yet another crowdfunding campaign, this time pitched at US investors. The company is working to offer its "Equity for Punks" scheme in the US, where investment laws are stricter, and hopes to launch it later this year. BrewDog didn't say much about how much it hopes to raise.
The brewer, which also runs a chain of bars, hasn't even finished its current crowdfunding round. It's currently running its fourth crowdfunding campaign in the UK and raised £5 million of the £25 million it's aiming for in just 20 days.
BrewDog paints all this fundraising as a middle finger to the word of traditional finance - the company likes to cultivate a rebellious image.
But All Street, a company that produces investment research on crowdfunding, says investors may be getting a bad deal. In a report it says it is "difficult to see how investors will make a financial return on this deal given the high valuation of £305 million."
Announcing the US expansion, co-founder James Watt said in a statement: "Our international expansion plans have always been ambitious, but our intentions stateside are probably up there with some of the most ambitious, bombastic, exciting ventures we've ever embarked upon.
"America has one of the world's most eclectic, energetic beer scenes imaginable, and we're psyched to be pledging allegiance to the craft beer revolution in the USA. Planet BrewDog just gained a continent."
The US is home to hundreds of craft breweries who are the inspiration behind many of the breweries that have sprung up across the UK in recent years.
Explaining the choice of location, Watt says: "The people of Ohio have absolutely bowled us over with their enthusiasm, passion for beer and warm welcome! Their reaction has been incredible, it's awesome to know we've made the right choice with where to lay the foundations for our American home, and we'll be throwing one helluva party to thank the locals for their support!"
Here's the town where BrewDog's new brewery will be:
