Bira 91 to enter public with its ESOP Pool, says Reports.

Bira 91, a craft beer company, has converted to a public company. Also, it has increased its pool of ESOPs (employee stock options).

Becoming a public company is a big step toward its goal of being listed on the Indian stock exchanges. After this, the company will send its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to the Securities Exchange Board of India, which is in charge of the market (SEBI).

In the prospectus, the new business will say how much money it wants to raise and how good its finances are.

The company’s board has also given the go-ahead for the employee stock options (ESOP) pool expansion.

As part of this, a special resolution was passed to add 1,566,390 options to Bira 91’s ESOP pool. There are now 3,649,199 ESOP options in the company.

Bira 91 was started by Ankur Jain in 2015 and sells craft beers in 550 towns and cities in 18 countries.

The change to a public company comes just a few weeks after it got $70 million from the Japanese drinks company Kirin Holdings.

In August 2021, the company raised about $20 million in a round called “Pre-Series D.” Investors have given the company a total of $280 million so far. It has big names like Sequoia and Sixth Sense Partners behind it.

Bira’s plan to go public comes at a time when most new tech start-ups have been avoiding their plans to list.

Last week, e-commerce giant Snapdeal dropped its plan to go public with an IPO for INR 1,250 Cr. This year, IPO plans were also put on hold by online pharmacy giant PharmEasy, auto marketplace Droom, fintech start-up MobiKwik, and direct-to-consumer electronics brand boAt.

Most reasons for putting off IPOs are shaky markets, fears of a recession, and worries about how profitable new tech companies will be.

Even with these problems, Bira still wants to go ahead with its plans to go public. In November, direct-to-consumer skincare company Mamaearth became a public company.

When it comes to competition, Bira goes head-to-head with giants like United Breweries, ABInBev, and Carlsberg.

In 2021, the Indian beer market was estimated to be worth INR 350 Bn. By 2027, it is expected to be worth INR 580 Bn.