Bira 91 Founder Ankur Jain Steps Down Amid Financial Crisis, Company Recapitalized

New Delhi: B9 Beverages founder Ankur Jain has stepped down from the company's board and is learnt to have agreed to give up all executive powers and ownership to settle a two-year-old dispute with the Bira 91 craft beer maker's institutional shareholders and lenders.

"I have stepped down from the B9 Beverages board," Jain told ET in an exclusive interaction on Tuesday after signing the settlement deal.

"I am thankful to everyone who has allowed us to create the Bira 91 brand - team members, investors, business partners," he said. "We ran into rough weather in the last two years. However, with this resolution, the business will enter a new phase of growth, a phase in which I will be cheering for the company and the brand from the sidelines."

People aware of the settlement negotiations said Jain and members of the promoter family will give up all executive powers in the company in lieu of which he will be absolved of all personal liabilities related to the company.

B9 Beverages is facing a severe financial crisis and its production has been suspended. Its debt has ballooned to approximately ₹1,000 crore. Jain himself had stood guarantor for some of those loans.

The company will now undergo a recapitalisation with existing investors and plans to resume operations over the next 3-6 months, people cited above said.

"The company will work towards settlement of statutory dues, employee dues and vendor dues as new shareholders and lenders recapitalise the business and resume business over the next six months," one of them said.

B9 Beverages' investors include Peak XV Partners and Japan's Kirin Holdings among others.

The brewer has taken loans from several lenders including Anicut Capital and Hero Corporate Services' family office.

The two parties have also agreed to drop all legal proceedings initiated against each other, the sources said. Agreements towards the settlement were signed on Tuesday, they said.

The promoter family holds a 17.8% stake in B9 Beverages. They will be giving up their ownership of the company.

Peak XV, Anicut Capital and Hero Corporate Services did not comment when contacted. Kirin Holdings said they did not have any information that they can share on the matter.

"Over the last 10 years, the B9 team built the first 'Imagined in India' brand in the beer category," Jain told ET.

He had told ET in December that he was willing to step down for the company's sake amid a brewing conflict over the company's future among its various stakeholders.

The company's run into losses is partly attributed to a change of name in preparation for an initial public offering. After changing its name from B9 Beverages Pvt Ltd to B9 Beverages Ltd to meet certain requirements for the IPO, the company had to apply afresh for licenses at various states to meet excise requirements.

Other reasons cited for the losses include over-spending on marketing and employee salaries, expensive sponsorship deals and expansion of breweries that exceeded demand.

At its peak, Bira 91 achieved $100 million in top line in FY23, becoming a breakout brand in the beer space led by its wheat beers.