Bira 91 loses ownership of The Beer Cafe as lenders Kirin and Anicut take over

Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings and Indian investment firm Anicut Capital have taken control of The Beer Cafe, the pub chain owned by B9 Beverages - the maker of Bira 91, after the company defaulted on pledged shares amid declining sales and liquidity pressures.

According to filings with the Registrar of Companies reviewed on Tuesday, Kirin Holdings, B9 Beverages’ largest shareholder and lender, along with Anicut Capital, have assumed ownership of BTB (Better Than Before), the entity operating The Beer Cafe. BTB runs 42 pubs across India and manages several food and beverage ventures.

The move effectively wipes out B9 Beverages’ stake in BTB. However, Bira 91’s founder and CEO, Ankur Jain, maintained that BTB remains a wholly-owned subsidiary and said the company has legally challenged the lenders’ actions.

The shares were initially pledged as collateral against loans. In addition to being B9’s largest shareholder, Kirin also participated as a lender through the company’s external commercial borrowings, according to people familiar with the matter.

B9 Beverages had acquired BTB in 2022 in an all-stock transaction, with the business contributing around 35% of the company’s consolidated revenue in FY2025. The transfer of ownership now makes Kirin and Anicut joint shareholders of BTB—a step that insiders say was taken to protect The Beer Cafe brand in the event B9 Beverages faced insolvency proceedings.

BTB founder and CEO Rahul Singh confirmed the change of ownership to The Economic Times, while both Kirin Holdings and Anicut Capital declined to comment.

BTB currently operates across five verticals in the beverage and on-premise hospitality sector, including The Beer Cafe, Bira 91 Taproom pubs (run under licence), cloud bar Thrsty, cloud kitchen brand Instacrave, and quick-service restaurant Burger Brewery.