Hooray! We’re a now public company (Nasdaq: OTLY). What does being a public company mean? That we are owned by the public, of course! You can now support the Post Milk Generation by buying a carton of barista edition oat drink or by buying a couple of shares of OTLY. Or both! pic.twitter.com/ShK0qJD9W9
— Oatly (@oatly) May 20, 2021
Oatly Group AB, the popular vegan milk maker, raised over $1.4 billion in gross proceeds its initial public offering (IPO), the company announced in a statement.
On Wednesday evening, the Sweden-based company priced its IPO at $17 per American Depositary Share (ADS), at the top of its indicated range, giving it a valuation of $10 billion. Each ADS represents one ordinary share.
Certain shareholders sold about $1.1 billion worth of ADSs as part of the transaction.
The ADSs opened at $22.12 on Thursday and traded as high as $22.74 before closing at $20.20, up 19% from the IPO price.
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan & Chase and Credit Suisse Group were among the lead underwriters for the offering.
Founded in 1994, Oatly produces oat-based alternatives to dairy products, such as milk, frozen desserts and yogurt, and is now the largest oat milk company in the world.
As consumers increasingly shift towards dairy-free and meatless diets, Oatly has become a popular brand in recent years and is available at 60,000 retail locations and 32,200 coffee shops in over 20 countries, including the US.
Its IPO comes at a time when the plant-based food sector continues to attract increased investor attention, especially as restaurants and fast-food chains create meatless menu items to draw in health and environment-conscious diners.
In July 2020, Oatly raised $200 million in a star-studded investment round led by private equity firm Blackstone Group that included participation by Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation and former Starbucks chief executive officer Howard Schultz.
Oatly’s biggest shareholder is a partnership between Belgian investment firm Verlinvest and an entity called Blossom Key Holdings, which is controlled by China Resources Co, a government-owned company.
On the heels of its well-received IPO, Oatly’s chief executive officer Tony Petersson told Yahoo Finance Live the company plans to use the proceeds to expand manufacturing capacity to meet strong demand.
Currently, Oatly has four facilities up and running, of which two are in the US. By 2023, Petersson said it will build three more manufacturing sites, including locations in China and Singapore.
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Source: Equities News
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