What you need to know:

• Drinks giant will acquire 100 per cent of Fermentum subject to regulatory approval.
• Will build a bigger brewery in Byron.
• New top marketer Anubha Sahasrabuddhe says the firm is also looking beyond beer for new growth.

Lion is to acquire Stone & Wood maker Fermentum. The beer giant will confirm the deal once regulatory approvals have been granted.

The Byron-based brewer was founded by former CUB colleagues Jamie Cook, Brad Rogers, Ross Jurisich. Lion originally had a 20 per cent stake in the business, but the three eventually bought it back under independent ownership. Now they have decided to sell up, having made Stone & Wood pretty much ubiquitous.

Lion recently handed all creative duties to Thinkerbell, scrapping its roster model – which included 72andSunny, Host/Havas and Ogilvy –  as new consumer and brand boss Anubha Sahasrabuddhe reshapes the portfolio and Lion’s broader direction.

Sahasrabuddhe told Mi3 last month that the firm aims to create sharper, more effective ads in a category that she thinks is far from reflective of Australian culture. She said the drinks giant is looking beyond beer – and is taking cues from the sharp, crisp creative coming out of New Zealand. 

Sahasrabuddhe also suggested that beer brands are missing out on a massive market in overlooking Australia's multicultural society and focusing, in her eyes, far too narrowly on traditional categories and marketing moments.

As part of the Fermentum deal, Lion has committed to will continue continue to brew in the Northern Rivers and will building a new brewery in Murwillumbah, and said it will donate $5 million to the inGrained Foundation and another $1 million to Big Scrub Landcare.

Details here.