Ankur Jain, with his Bira craft beer, took on Vijay Mallya of United Breweries Ltd. (UBL), once the king of good times, and nearly dealt a significant blow a few years ago.
Unlike UBL, which faltered due to Mallya’s aviation misadventures, Bira 91 is grappling with various challenges, prompting both shareholders and employees to call for the removal of the man who built but also dented the brand.
Although Bira 91 succeeded in creating a home-grown beer brand and reached an annual revenue of around INR 850 crore at its peak, the company has remained heavily loss-making throughout its decade-long history.
The beverage company also faced compliance issues after changing its corporate name from B9 Beverages Private Limited to B9 Beverages Limited—just one word!
This triggered:
- Cancellation and re-registration of licenses across Indian states.
- Halted sales across multiple markets for 4–6 months.
- Inventory losses of Rs 80 crore and a net loss of Rs 748 crore for FY2023–24.
Bira's name change in preparation for a 2026 IPO led to a 68% increase in losses. These operational challenges, coupled with missed tax payments, caused a liquidity crunch that exacerbated payroll defaults.
When a company removes "Private" from its name to become a "Public" limited company, it takes on new responsibilities:
- It can raise funds from the public
- It must have at least seven shareholders instead of two in a private company Increased compliance and regulatory burdens under the Company's Act 2013 Board Restructuring - it needs three directors instead of two
- Shares become freely transferable unlike in a private company
- Higher transparency and disclosure norms are required