Bira acquires retail bar chain The Beer Cafe

Premium beer manufacturing startup Bira91 has acquired India's largest alcobev retail chain The Beer Cafe in an all stock deal. The bar and restaurant chain will become a fully owned subsidiary of beer manufacturer.

Reported by The Economic Times, the investors in The Beer Cafe, including promoters Rahul and Bineeta Singh, and venture capitalists Mayfield, Granite Hill, and RB Investments, will receive stocks of Bira 91 as part of the deal. The 33 retail outlets currently under operation will receive Bira 91's support in innovation and supply chain.

"The deal will enable Bira 91 to strengthen its play in pubs and build a direct-to-consumer platform focused on beer," Bira 91 CEO Ankur Jain told ET.

The Beer Cafe team, including CEO Rahul Singh, will stay on, and will be tasked with running Bira's retail outlet division, including its recently created Bira Taprooms. While the Taprooms focus on serving Bira 91 beer, the existing outlets of The Beer Cafe will continue to serve a variety of options.

"Bira 91 will continue to invest in beer innovation and efficient supply chain. This will grow our own capabilities, along with talent and scale. Also, the group will take care of all support functions, which will give me sharper focus to expand Beer Cafe," said Singh.

Set up in 2015, Bira 91 has a presence in over 500 towns and 15 countries. According to regulatory filings, it had a revenue of Rs 428.2 crore in the financial year 2020-21.