Indian brewer Bira plans $132 million fundraising; GEM among suitors
By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Indian craft beer maker Bira is in talks to raise $132 million in its biggest ever fundraising, with New York-based investment group Global Emerging Markets (GEM) as one of the potential suitors, according to term sheets seen by Reuters.
Bira has become popular over the years amid a thriving social drinking scene across the country. The market is still dominated by likes of AB InBev ABI.BR, Carlsberg CARLb.CO and Heineken HEIN.AS, with Bira having an under 5% share.
Term sheets seen by Reuters show Bira is in talks to raise $50 million via the equity route from alternative investment group GEM, and another $82 million via structured credit.
It's not clear what stake Global Emerging Markets would pick up in Bira, and the group did not respond to Reuters queries.
"We confirm that we have received term sheets for substantial investments in the company in the form of structured debt and equity," Bira CEO Ankur Jain told Reuters, declining to share investors' names or amounts.
In 2022, Bira acquired beverage chain operator The Beer Cafe to get access to more restaurants and pubs.
But India remains a tough regulatory environment for liquor companies.
Jain said Bira in 2023/24 changed its registered name from B9 Beverages Private Ltd to B9 Beverages Ltd. The move he said caused 800 million rupees ($9 million) in losses as it triggered months of business disruption as state regulations required each brand and label to be registered again across dozens of Indian states.
Any funds raised will be used for working capital needs and clear pending dues, adding that the "company has been making serious efforts for business recovery including restructuring its sales and supply chain operations", he added.
Launched in 2015, Bira has so far raised $210 million and was valued at $450 million two years ago. It is also counts Japan's Kirin 2503.T and Peak XV, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India, among its investors.
Related Articles
OpenAI's Dev Day 2025: How ChatGPT's App Ecosystem Is Redefining the Internet
Two years ago, OpenAI's first Dev Day felt like a startup showing off its breakthrough product. ChatGPT had 100 million weekly users and processed 300 million API tokens per minute—numbers that made headlines and seemed impossibly large. Fast-forward to today, and those figures look almost modest. C
Synopsys (SNPS): Strategic Opportunities and Risks Amid 40% Drawdown
Chip giant Synopsys teetering on the edge? The ultimate "pick-and-shovel" supplier in the AI frenzy, but hammered by China's sudden market freeze and export clamps, sending shares crashing 40%! Is that $35 billion Ansys mega-deal a rescue rope or a bigger sinkhole? Dive into the EDA powerhouse's nai-8a7a081ca049441dae56d6b7cc6440c4.jpg)
FOMC October Meeting Minutes: How Should Investors Respond?
In the context of the U.S. government shutdown and a period of limited economic data, the Federal Reserve’s release of its latest monetary policy meeting minutes and officials’ statements on 8 October will be particularly significant.
U.S. Government Shutdown Commentary: Is a Stock Market Crash Imminent? Will Gold Prices Continue to Surge?
TradingKey - On 1 October 2025, the U.S. federal government officially entered a shutdown, impacting various asset classes. This article analyses two key markets most affected—U.S. equities and gold—to help investors identify potential opportunities.
ASML Q2 FY2025 Earnings Review: Strong Growth and High-NA EUV Breakthrough Shadowed by 2026 Uncertainty
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) released its Q2 FY2025 earnings on July 16, 2025, exceeding market expectations with robust net sales and net bookings, though the stock fell around 10% due to cautious guidance for 2026 amid geopolitical uncertainties.
