Indian craft beer maker Bira 91 to buy Beer Cafe
12/10/2022 07:40
By Tanvi Mehta and Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Sequoia Capital-backed
Bira 91 said on Wednesday it will buy beverage chain operator
The Beer Cafe for an undisclosed price, giving the Indian craft
beer maker access to more restaurants and pubs as dining out
becomes a preferred option again.
Started in 2015, Bira is one of India's most popular craft
beer makers and is backed by Japan's Kirin Holdings 2503.T and
Belgium's Sofina. It competes with international brands such as
Carlsberg CARLb.CO as well as Heineken-owned HEIN.AS and
United Breweries UBBW.NS .
The deal comes during the festival season in the South Asian
country, with more people stepping out for socialising and
dining after being forced to stay largely indoors for nearly two
years of the pandemic.
Beer Cafe's chief executive officer, Rahul Singh, will lead
the brand's operations, the companies said in a statement.
"We will be making some new private-label beers at Bira
breweries,” Singh told Reuters, adding that the deal with Bira
was an all-stock deal.
Singh declined to comment further on financials.
Beer Cafe, which sells 50 brands across 33 outlets in 15
cities, will continue to serve beer from different global
brands, the statement added.
Kirin is in talks with Bira to triple its investment in the
beer marker, sources told Reuters last month. The company is set
to pump in the additional funds at an equity valuation of $450
million, the sources said.
(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta and Aditya Kalra)
((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/TanviMehta710;))