Oatly sows the seeds for $10bn IPO valuation

Oatly has enjoyed significant mainstream success with prominent coffee chains including Starbucks and Intelligentsia Coffee | Photo credit: Leon Seibert

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Oatly has submitted a confidential filing for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in New York. According to an unconfirmed report in the Financial Times, the IPO could see the Swedish firm valued at up to $10bn.
 
The move comes less than a year after Oatly secured $200m from an eclectic range of investors reported to include former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Natalie Portman. Other investors included Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company, US private investment firm Orkila Capital and an investment arm of Netherlands-based Rabobank.
 
Founded in 1990, Oatly is majority-owned by Belgian investment firm Verlinvest, which also has stakes in ethical chocolate brand, Tony’s Chocolonely, coconut beverage maker Vita Coco, and 400-strong Indonesian coffee chain, Kopi Kenangan.
 
Oatly’s products have enjoyed significant mainstream success in recent years, with US specialty coffee chain Intelligentsia becoming the first major US café to stock its oat dairy alternative products in 2016.
 
More recently, Oatly has embarked on a partnership with Starbucks in the US, which was extended across the coffee giant’s Chinese stores in April 2020.
 
Oatly’s lucrative IPO underlines the significant commercial potential of plant-based products globally as consumers, particularly those under the age of 35, seek to reduce their environmental impact and opt for healthier products. 
 
In September 2020, Belgian plant-based food and beverage manufacturer, Alpro, announced it would invest €30m ($35m) to boost production facilities in the UK and Belgium, a move which enable it to produce 75 million extra packs of soya, oat, rice and coconut drinks per year.