Oprah-backed Oatly Files for IPO
April 19 2021 - 7:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Kimberly Chin
Oatly Group AB has formally filed paperwork Monday for an
initial public offering in the U.S., nine months after
private-equity giant Blackstone Group Inc. and a handful
high-profile celebrities took a stake in the oat milk producer.
The Malmö, Sweden-based company entered the U.S. market in 2017
with its alternative dairy products that have grown in popularity
among consumers seeking healthier options with less impact on the
environment.
Last July, The Wall Street Journal reported the company had sold
a $200 million stake to a group led by Blackstone and included
Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, former Starbucks Corp. chief Howard
Schultz and the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z. The sale of
the roughly 10% stake valued Oatly at about $2 billion. In
February, the oat-milk maker confidentially filed for an IPO in the
U.S.
The retail value of the plant-based dairy industry in the
Americas is expected to hit $7 billion by 2025, according to
Euromonitor.
The growing appetite for plant-based alternatives has put
pressure on dairy-milk companies like Dean Foods Co., which filed
for bankruptcy in 2019. Meanwhile, companies focused on plant-based
alternatives have seen demand from consumers and investors alike
take off in recent years. For example, shares of plant-based food
maker Beyond Meat Inc. have increased 441% since it went public in
2019.
As part of the filing on Monday, the company said it had revenue
of $421.4 million in 2020, compared with $204 million in 2019. Its
losses for the year, however, widened to $60.4 million, compared
with $35.6 million a year earlier.
Oatly plans to raise $100 million from a sale of its American
depositary shares, a placeholder figure companies often use to
calculate filing fees and is often changed. It didn't disclose how
many ADS it intends to offer to the public, according to
registration documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on Monday.
The company plans to list its ADS on the Nasdaq Stock Market
under the symbol OTLY.
The company, which was founded in 1994, launched its first oat
milk product under the brand Oatly in 2001. Oatly says the process
of making oat milk, which involves steeping oats in water, consumes
less water than making almond milk. In addition to oat milk, the
company makes products such as ice cream, yogurt and spreads.
Oatly plans to use the proceeds from the offering for working
capital and to invest in its growth and other general corporate
purposes.
Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2021 19:16 ET (23:16 GMT)
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