Bira 91 to acquire pub chain The Beer Café

With the acquisition, Bira 91 will also build a beer-focussed direct-to-consumer platform.

“Bira 91 will leverage its infrastructure, experience, and expansion capabilities to further refine The Beer Café’s strong operating model and better serve its loyal and passionate base of beer enthusiasts,” the company said in statement.

The future of Bira 91’s restaurant vertical will involve a combination of strengthening The Beer Café’s offerings with its expertise while continuing to expand the Bira 91 Taproom experience to increase the base of Bira 91 loyalists, it added.

The Beer Café’s management led by Rahul Singh, CEO and founder, will continue to lead the brand’s operations and take complete responsibility of the newly formed restaurant vertical.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions as provided under the transaction agreements, the company said.

The Beer Café operates 33 outlets in 15 cities across tier one, two and three cities including locations in malls, high streets and transit hubs. Bira 91 will add to The Beer Café brand by improving consumer offerings.

The Beer Café outlets will help Bira 91 penetrate deeper into the restaurant space and cultivate a beer culture in the country.

Backed by Sequoia Capital India, Sofina, and Japan’s Kirin Holding, Bira 91 is available in 500 towns and cities across 15 countries. It brews its beers across four breweries in India.

“The Beer Café has a strong consumer base that is loyal and passionate towards the brand. We have a strong operating model, and by leveraging on the strengths of Bira 91, we will be able to enhance the consumer experience and take the brand to newer heights. The neutrality of The Beer Café brand offering the most variety of beers remains intact,” said Rahul Singh of The Beer Café.

The Beer Café stared operations in April 2012 with its first outlet in Gurugram.

Both Bira 91 and The Beer Café were conceived with the same intent of evangelizing and elevating the beer experience in India and with this acquisition, the two aim to catalyse the growth of beer culture in the country, said Ankur Jain, founder and CEO, of Bira 91.