The Next Plant IPO: Oatly Reported To Be Seeking US$10B Valuation In U.S. Listing This Year

Oatly could be seeking a value of US$10 billion in a U.S. initial public offering, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The Swedish food tech behind one of the recognisable plant-based milk brands on the market has been backed by the likes of Oprah and controversial investment firm Blackstone, and is said to be working with advisers on going public as soon as May this year. 

The Malmo-based firm is reported to be working on an U.S. public listing with a valuation of around US$10 billion that could come in May this year, sources familiar to the matter told Bloomberg. According to the report, discussions are still ongoing and more specific details of the size and timing of the IPO could still change in the coming weeks. 

For now, Oatly will be going ahead with a U.S. listing, though it did consider going public in Hong Kong as well, said the sources, without citing reasons behind the decision. Talk of Oatly’s debut – which has been going on for weeks – will no doubt attract investors, given its status as a major plant-based player sharing the same ranks as the world’s first public vegan food tech, Beyond Meat. 

The move to go public would come at a time when oat milk sales have surged to become the second most popular in the fast-growing plant-based milk category and as high-profile startups continue to debut on the raging IPO market. Oatly’s own sales have seen triple-digit annual growth for three consecutive years, and it is expected to be profitable this year if it manages to record a doubling of its U.S. revenues to US$400 million. 

These latest updates of Oatly’s upcoming IPO, which the brand has still yet to confirm on the record, comes shortly after its major global expansion. It has landed in Singapore for the first time in late 2020, following the coffee giant’s roll out of new plant-based options in eight Asian markets and a landmark nationwide partnership with Starbucks China, alongside fellow plant-based startups OmniFoods and Beyond Meat. 

Most recently, the bold oat milk maker also caused a stir recently for its Super Bowl commercial featuring its CEO Toni Petersson singing his original song “Wow, No Cow” in a field of oats, which ignited a wave of comments all over Twitter – no doubt a part of its plan to reach the millions of mass consumers who tune into the event each year and propel even further the mainstreaming of plant-based milk.  

For the most part, the advert wiped away the far more negative attention it received after former fans lodged a boycott against Oatly regarding its US$200 million investment it received from deforestation-linked firm Blackstone, whose CEO Steve Schwarzman is a major donor to Donald Trump Super PACs. 

All images courtesy of Oatly.