Wall Street is thirsty for Oatly Group AB.
Shares in the oat-drink company jumped more than 28% in their market debut on Thursday, a sign that investors are eager to cash in on the growing market for dairy alternatives. The Swedish firm priced shares at $17 on Wednesday in an initial public offering led by Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Credit Suisse. Oatly raised $1.43 billion in the IPO, the Wall Street Journal reported. The stock is trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol OTLY.
In its prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Blackstone-backed Oatly plays up its products—which include plant-based yogurt and ice cream, in addition to its staple Barista Edition—as more environmentally friendly than traditional diary. “Sustainability is at the core of our business and actionable in our products: on average, a liter of Oatly product consumed in place of cow’s milk results in around 80% less greenhouse gas emissions, 79% less land usage and 60% less energy consumption,” the company writes. “This equation is our primary mechanism for impact.”
The company, which was founded in the mid-1990s, has been growing at a fast clip over the last few years. Its revenue was $421.4 million in 2020, up 106.5% from 2019. Losses were $60.4 million due to what Oatly describes as “our continued focus on our growth.”
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