Japanese beer maker Kirin has signed its first Indian deal with Delhi based beer maker Bira 91. As per the agreement, Kirin will invest $30 million in Bira 91. Kirin is focusing on the premium brewery brands that have a large price and a bigger margin.
Bira Plans to Sell 20% Stake
Bira 91 was in touch with different investors including Kirin. Initially, they focussed on selling 20% stake. With a capital of $30 million, Kirin acquired 10% stakes of Bira 91. Further talks are going on with other financial investors to sell 10% more stake. As per the Bira 91 CEO Ankur Jain statement, the remaining 10% stake deal is expected to be signed by March.
Bira 91 is a craft brewery. Smaller beer maker comes under the category of the craft brewery. In general, craft beer makers are independently owned. The craft brewery is $90 billion worth worldwide. Bira 91 is one of the premium beer brands of India. B9 Beverages Pvt Ltd manufactures Bira 91 brand.
Bira also posted losses in the pandemic year. With this deal, Bira is planning to launch a few of its known products in Japan.
Bira brand was founded in 2015. In recent years, it has become very popular in metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Bira 91 White, Bira 91 Blonde, Bira 91 Light, Bira 91 Strong, and Bira 91 Bloom are some of the known variants of Bira 91.
Kirin Acquisition and Overseas Plan
Kirin is planning to target craft brewery companies globally. The Japanese company has acquired different craft beer brands.
Last year, the company acquired New Belgium brewing with the help of Lion. New Belgium Brewing is the fourth-largest craft brewer in the US. Lion company is a subsidiary of Kirin. Lion has its operations in Australia. In the year 2018-19, Kirin acquired two UK craft, beer makers.
Other than Bira 91 stake, the Japanese group also bought a 25% stake in Brooklyn brewery.
The Indian beer market is least explored by the world-known beer company. Kirin’s market share is continuously declining in Japan so the company wants to explore more opportunities worldwide.
Some of Kirin’s overseas units did not give the expected results. Kirin entered in Myanmar beer market in the year 2015. Myanmar entry became controversial when the company’s local partner was found to have a Military connection. In 2017, Kirin sold its Brazilian unit to Heinekin to avoid continuous losses.
