Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain exits B9 Beverages after lender settlement
Jain and his family have left the brewer’s board, executive roles and 17.8% stake. B9 Beverages is pursuing a balance-sheet clean-up and fresh capital after revenue fell to about ₹600 crore in FY24 while losses exceeded ₹640 crore.
What happened
Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain and his family exited B9 Beverages’ board, executive roles and 17.8% stake after a lender settlement. The brewer aims to restructure,
Key facts
- Nearly 30 stakeholders involved in the settlement
- Promoter family stake: 17.8%
- FY24 revenue: around ₹600 crore
- FY23 revenue: nearly ₹840 crore
- FY24 losses: over ₹640 crore
Why this matters
B9 Beverages’ restructuring could create an opening for strategic capital, distribution partnerships or asset-led deals, though counterparties will need clarity on governance and liabilities.
What to watch
- Announcement of a new CEO, chief restructuring officer, independent directors or investor-nominated board members.
- Size, valuation, instrument and governance terms of any fresh capital raise.
- Evidence of lender debt conversion, repayment schedules, covenant relief or additional security creation.
- Changes in brewery ownership, plant utilization, contract-manufacturing arrangements or market-level distribution footprint.
- Revenue recovery versus the FY24 base of about ₹600 crore, alongside quarterly cash burn and gross-margin improvement.
- Vendor-payment normalization, distributor reactivation and product availability in core markets.
- Any strategic-investor stake purchase, brand-licensing arrangement, asset sale or insolvency-related filing.
- Appoint an interim or permanent CEO and reconstitute the board with turnaround and consumer-business expertise.
- Close a bridge-financing or equity round tied to lender covenants and a defined deleveraging plan.
- Prioritize profitable metros, high-velocity SKUs and on-premise accounts; reduce low-return geographic and product expansion.
- Renegotiate supplier, distributor, landlord and manufacturing obligations to stabilize working capital.
- Reset pricing, promotional spending and production planning to improve gross margin and reduce inventory leakage.
- Explore strategic partnerships with brewers, alcobev distributors, private-equity investors or contract manufacturers.