Bira talking to foreign beer makers about possible stake sale: CEO

“We’ve been looking for a combination: (an) international beer company as a strategic investor and a separate financial partner,” CEO Ankur Jain said, adding it was in the “intermediate stage” of raising funds.

“We’ve been talking to beer firms that are not competitive in India or have minimal operations in India.” (pegged to be $ 7 bn beer market). Data provider PitchBook estimates New Delhi-based Bira was valued at $210 mn in 2018. USbased Sequoia Capital holds a roughly 45% stake in the company, while CEO Jain and his family own around 30%.

Jain did not name the firms with which it is in talks, but four industry sources said Bira had been in talks with Kirin Holdings, one of Japan’s biggest beer makers which has limited sales in India. A Kirin spokesman said there was “absolutely no discussion at the moment” for a stake in Bira, which had a 5-10% share of the beer market in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.