Who owns this brewery?

From the archive

Lion Pty Limited

VERIFIEDYESEvidence BChecked 2026-09-06

Since: 2012-11
Direct owner: Lion Pty Limited
Ultimate parent: Kirin Holdings

How Tally knows

Lion bought Emerson's in November 2012 for NZ$8 million, and Lion is itself owned by Kirin. The brewery kept its Dunedin site and its founder Richard Emerson in place, running as a standalone unit. Tally records Lion as the owner and Kirin above it, because saying Kirin bought Emerson's would skip the company that actually did.

Evidence

2 sources

Lion bought Emerson's for $8million — Otago Daily Times (2013-04-10) Proves: The November 2012 acquisition and the NZ$8m price
Craft brewer Emerson's bought out by Lion — New Zealand Herald (accessed 2026-09-06) Proves: Lion as buyer, Kirin as Lion's owner, and operational continuity

Connections

emersons-breweryacquired byLion Pty Limited2012-11–present · B
emersons-breweryultimately owned byKirin Holdings2012-11–present · B

What we still don’t know

The archive holds no Lion company record. Kirin exists and is the ultimate parent, not the buyer. Lion Pty Limited is staged in phase2-entities.json.
Reporting names 'Lion'. Whether the New Zealand purchase was contracted by Lion Pty Limited or a New Zealand subsidiary is not established.