Ankur Jain has stepped down from B9 Beverages after reaching a settlement with lenders, according to a LinkedIn post on Monday. As reported by Mint, Jain stated that he and his family would step down from board and executive positions with immediate effect after reaching the settlement. The agreement includes withdrawal of all claims and litigation between the parties, along with release of personal guarantees Jain provided for corporate loans. Jain's mother, Shashi Jain, and wife, Ankeeta Pawa, were also part of the company's leadership structure. According to ET, the settlement was signed yesterday, bringing to an end nearly two-year dispute between Jain, the promoter family, investors and lenders. Jain will be released from personal liabilities, including guaranteed loans, while both sides will withdraw the legal cases filed against each other.
Former employees expressed concern that Jain's exit announcement provided no clarity on outstanding salary payments. According to Mint, one former employee stated that while Jain apologized, there was no indication of how pending dues would be resolved. Another former employee noted that apologies were insufficient given months of broken promises about clearing employee dues. The employee emphasized that justice for employees should come before founder settlements, stating that employees deserved accountability, transparency, and payment of rightfully earned wages. The company's workforce had shrunk significantly from around 900 employees, with only a small number continuing to work without pay as the company grappled with a prolonged funding crisis.
The leadership transition was part of a broader restructuring effort to stabilize the cash-strapped craft brewer. As reported by Mint, investors and lenders were moving to stabilize the company, with existing investors prepared to infuse approximately ₹400 crore at a sharply reduced valuation, along with an option to provide another ₹100 crore. The company, backed by investors including Peak XV Partners, Sofina, Anicut Capital and Japan's Kirin Holdings, had been under mounting financial stress following a prolonged funding squeeze and operational disruptions. The settlement comes after B9 Beverages endured a prolonged financial crisis that saw production come to a halt and its overall debt reportedly swell to about ₹1,000 crore.
B9 Beverages' financial performance had deteriorated significantly, with revenue falling to ₹638.5 crore in FY24 from ₹824.3 crore the previous year. According to Mint, losses widened to ₹748.8 crore from ₹445.4 crore year-on-year. The company's workforce had shrunk significantly from around 900 employees, with only a small number continuing to work without pay as the company grappled with a prolonged funding crisis. Employee salary and statutory dues were estimated at around ₹100 crore, though Jain disputed this figure, stating the actual liability was a 'small fraction' of that estimate. The company subsequently wrote off inventory worth about ₹80 crore and delayed payments to vendors.
Creditors, including Devyani International, had initiated proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal, while the company received Maharashtra tax notices worth ₹26 crore. As reported by Mint, beer production had stopped around October 2025, offices had largely shut and operations were running on an extremely lean cost structure. The company had been in crisis for months, with around 50 former employees protesting outside Jain's New Delhi residence over unpaid salaries and statutory dues in March. The brewer's troubles intensified last month after glass manufacturer Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Ltd sent it a legal notice over unpaid dues and uncollected inventory. The glassmaker alleged that B9 Beverages failed to collect more than 51 lakh customised bottles and defaulted on payments, including bills, interest, storage and mould charges.
