B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd, which makes craft beer under the brand Bira 91, has raised $4.3 million from Mumbai-based consumer-focused venture capital (VC) fund Sixth Sense Ventures. The funding comes as a pre-Series C round, which will take the valuation of the company to $246 million.
Bira 91 last raised $50 million in May 2018 from Belgian investor Sofina at a reported valuation of around $210 million. The company has to date raised close to $74 million in equity financing. Sequoia Capital is its largest single investor.
The investment in Bira 91 was first reported by data research firm Paper.vc, citing regulatory filings.
As per the documents, the pre-Series C is an unusual nomenclature, indicating that it wants to raise a larger Series C round at a suitable valuation.
Launched in February 2015, Bira 91 has presence in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and Chandigarh. The company has also forayed into the US and Asia-Pacific. It has nearly 350 employees and runs two breweries. Bira 91 competes with other beer brands including White Owl, Simba, Brewbot, White Rhino, Kati Patang, etc. In April 2019, Bira 91 forayed into mass beer market with the launch of a sub-brand Boom.
The company’s consolidated net sales stood at Rs 158 crore during 2017-18, up from from Rs 30.9 crore a year before. However, consolidated net loss widened to Rs 101.8 crore from Rs 55 crore, according to VCCEdge.
Meanwhile, for Sixth Sense Ventures, this deal marks the fund’s entry in the alcoholic beverage category. The deal is also Sixth Sense’s second investment in the last two months, after it backed MyHealthcare, a digital integrated healthcare ecosystem, by investing $3 million. Sixth Sense Ventures was founded in 2014 by Nikhil Vora, former managing director at IDFC Securities.
Comments
0 comment