From a brand known for its cool urban image and setting the Indian craft brewery benchmark, Bira 91’s survival hangs by a thread.

The startup, which has raised more than $200 Mn in funding to date from investors such as Peak XV Partners, Sofina, and Kirin Holdings, among others, is struggling to move past the slowdown that hit its business last year.

At the centre of the storm are 600 employees, the investors, and Ankur Jain, the CEO and founder of B9 Beverages Ltd, Bira 91’s parent company.

Jain is under pressure to step down after a series of misfortunes for the company, including having to convert the parent entity from a private limited company to a public limited company.

More importantly, Jain and his family members on the board of the company have been alleged to have waived off recovery of excess remuneration for themselves in contravention of certain sections of the Companies Act. 2013.

Amid these allegations, there’s a battle brewing between Bira 91’s investors and the management to take over the assets of the company, even as employees claim that the situation was worsened by management inaction.

As per reports from earlier this week, the company may soon clear pending salaries and provident fund dues as the company moves to sell one of its assets.

Jain has reportedly informed employees that the planned sale is aimed at raising “immediate cash” to address dues and payment obligations, but no one is certain about which assets are being sold and to whom.

In fact, as of November 10, 2025, 8:30 PM, Inc42 was unable to access the Bira 91 website. It’s not yet clear whether this is related to any asset sales that the company has undertaken.

Bira 91 declined to respond to Inc42’s questions, but sources say the rot goes deeper than just a name change. Saddled with multiple concerns, the fate of one of India’s oldest craft beer brands is on the line. Here’s why Bira 91 is stuck in a quagmire.

Pressure Piles Up On Bira 91

Amid piling losses and debts and business disruption, investors are reportedly locked in a legal battle with the CEO and other board members Ankur Jain’s mother Shashi Jain and his wife Ankeeta Pawa.

Sources claimed that at a recent company-wide meeting, Jain said he is willing to step down, however “shareholders aren’t willing to take over,” leaving the company in a limbo.

Shareholders, including lender Anicut Capital, are collectively demanding the resignation of Jain and his family members from the company. Notably, Kirin Holdings has a 20.1% stake in the company, whereas Jain and his family hold 17% stake in the firm, followed by Peak XV Partners which has roughly 4-5% equity.

“It has been brought to the notice of investors by employees themselves that gross financial irregularities have been happening at the firm which prompted them to act,” one of the sources close to the investors said.

Kirin Holdings and Anicut Capital reportedly have already taken over the assets of The Beer Cafe,........

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