In 1978 the Bushells family made the decision to sell their shares and approached their cousins, Brooke, in England. The Brooke Bond company was still substantially owned by the Brooke family, but operated under the name of Brooke Bond Liebig Ltd.

At the time, newspaper reports indicated that there was some resistance to a non-Australian company purchasing the business, but the government was in the process of relaxing its policy of overseas ownership. Objections to the take over by Brooke Bond Liebig Ltd were overcome and following the sale of the shares, Bushells donated and established a public plaza. The plaza, known as 'Bushell Place', is in The Rocks area in Sydney.

Throughout the 1980's the company continued to make substantial investments in its coffee business. The instant coffee extraction plant was rebuilt in 1981, a new continuous roaster for the instant coffee was installed in 1982 and a new instant coffee agglomerator was installed in 1985. Unilever acquired the company through their purchase of the Brooke Bond business in 1988.

In 1998, as part of an acquisition of coffee brands from Unilever, FreshFood Services Pty Ltd purchased the Bushells coffee brand. The tea brand still remains with Unilever. The coffee continues to be produced at the Concord Factory. FreshFood also purchased the New Zealand division of Bushells coffee.