Tilray

Tilray Brands is one of the most atypical companies in the cannabis industry: founded by Silicon Valley financiers, it was the first cannabis company listed on NASDAQ, merged with rival Aphria to become the world's largest producer, and has gradually transformed itself into a cannabis, craft beer and wellness products conglomerate operating in over 20 countries.

Privateer Holdings: the origin of venture capital

The Tilray story began in 2011, when Brendan Kennedy, former COO of SVB Analytics, a subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank, co-founded Privateer Holdings with Michael Blue and Christian Groh, the world's first private equity fund dedicated exclusively to legal cannabis. Kennedy has an MBA from Yale, a degree in architecture from Berkeley and six Ironmans to his credit, but doesn't use cannabis himself.

Privateer's distinctive feature: approaching cannabis as an emerging technology sector, with a long-term investment thesis and financial discipline taken from Silicon Valley. Their first attempts to enter the industry were met with general skepticism. «Everyone thought we were DEA,» recalls Kennedy.

Tilray: North America's first GMP-certified producer

In 2013, after raising over $250 million without finding a company to acquire in Canada, Kennedy decided to set up his own production company. Tilray was founded in Nanaimo, British Columbia, and shipped its first orders in April 2014.

In December 2016, Tilray became the first medical cannabis producer in North America to obtain GMP certification - the most demanding pharmaceutical standard. This certification opens up European markets and enables Tilray to become the first legal exporter of medical cannabis to the United States for a clinical trial in 2018, and to sign a global distribution contract with Sandoz, the company's generic subsidiary.
of Novartis.

The historic NASDAQ IPO of 2018

In July 2018, Tilray became the first cannabis company to go public on the NASDAQ, under the ticker symbol TLRY. The IPO is the stock market phenomenon of the year: the stock rises 315% in a matter of weeks, valuing Tilray at $9 billion at its peak. Brendan Kennedy, who doesn't smoke cannabis, briefly becomes the richest man in the legal cannabis industry. His daughter helps ring the NASDAQ bell on IPO day.

The merger with Aphria: the birth of a global giant

In December 2020, Tilray and Aphria, two of Canada's largest producers, announce their stock merger. The deal, finalized in May 2021, creates the world's largest cannabis group by sales, with a combined value of C$5 billion. The merged company retains the Tilray name and is led by Irwin Simon, former CEO of Aphria.

Brendan Kennedy joins the Board of Directors of the new entity. The merger brings to Tilray the European assets of Aphria in Germany, combined with Tilray's GMP production facilities in Portugal.

Diversification into craft beer

Under the leadership of Irwin Simon, former CEO of organic food giant Hain Celestial, Tilray adopts an aggressive diversification strategy into American craft beverages. The company successively acquired SweetWater Brewing, eight Anheuser-Busch beer brands (including 10 Barrel Brewing and Redhook), four Molson Coors breweries, and several other craft brands. Beverages now account for around a quarter of Tilray's total revenues.

In March 2026, Tilray acquires the UK and Irish operations of BrewDog, an iconic Scottish brewer placed into administration, for £33 million. The deal gives Tilray a production and distribution platform in Europe for its American beer brands, complementing its medical cannabis operations on the continent.

Tilray in Europe and France

Tilray operates an EU GMP-certified production facility in Portugal, supplying European markets with medical cannabis. In Germany, its medical products are available in pharmacies. France is one of the markets Tilray is monitoring as part of the medical cannabis experiment.

Listed on the NASDAQ and TSX under the symbol TLRY, Tilray Brands achieved record sales of $788.9 million in 2024.