Oprah-Backed Drink Maker Oatly Files for U.S. IPO

(Bloomberg) -- Oatly AB, the vegan food and drink maker backed by celebrity entrepreneurs Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S.

The listing will take place once the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has completed a review process, Malmo, Sweden-based Oatly said in a statement Tuesday.

Oatly, whose biggest shareholder is Belgian family-owned investment firm Verlinvest, didn’t provide further details on terms of the planned share sale. Bloomberg News reported this month that the company is considering seeking a valuation of around $10 billion in the listing.

Oatly was founded in the 1990s by brothers Rickard and Bjorn Oste. Using technology based on research from Sweden’s Lund University, the company turns fiber-rich oats into liquid food. Its products continue to attract a following among latte drinkers from New York to Shanghai, thanks to frothing qualities that emulate dairy milk.

Last year, the company raised $200 million in funding from investors including Blackstone Group Inc. and Jay-Z. The funding round valued Oatly at roughly $2 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said at the time. Verlinvest and China Resources Group were among Oatly’s earliest backers, buying an undisclosed stake in 2016.

Plant-based food and drink companies are hoping to tap into increasing consumer demand for animal product alternatives. Shares of Beyond Meat Inc. have risen 32% in U.S. trading over the last year. Beyond Meat remains unprofitable, as it’s had to spend heavily on product development, manufacturing and advertising, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

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