Japanese brewer Kirin to invest $30 million in Indian beer firm

Japan’s beer maker Kirin Holdings plans to invest $30 million in Delhi-headquartered B9 Beverages which caters to the craft beer segment, the two companies disclosed on Monday.

The Japanese brewer will acquire a stake of under 10 per cent in B9, the maker of India’s popular craft beer Bira, a Kirin spokesman and Bira CEO Ankur Jain said.

The investment would allow Bira, which has posted losses in recent years and has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, to break even in the 2022 fiscal.

“The companies will be exploring business synergies,” Jain said, adding that the investment would allow Bira to accelerate plans to launch its products in Japan later this year. He expects the deal to be closed over “the next few days”.

While Bira, launched in 2015, is one of the smallest players in India’s broader beer industry, its craft beer offerings have become increasingly popular in recent years. Bira claims to have a 5-10 per cent  share of the beer market in cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Kirin also owns a minority stake in New York’s Brooklyn Brewery.
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