Oatly raises $1.4bn in IPO

Shares in Oatly have been priced at $17 (£12.04)) each, the high end of expectations, and means that Oatly is valued at around $10bn (£7.08bn).

Oatly, the Swedish plant-based food and drinks firm, raised over $1.4bn (£994m) in its IPO with its shares priced at the high end of expectations as it begins life as a public company.

Shares in Oatly, whose investors include rapper Jay Z and Howard Schultz, the former boss of Starbucks, have been priced at $17 (£12.04 ) each on Nasdaq.

The company raised $1.1bn (£780m) in new shares and $335m (£237m) for selling investors in the IPO on the eve of its public listing.

Its target had been to raise between $1.27bn (£900m) and $1.43bn (£1.01bn), according to a regulatory filing.

Oatly has priced 84.4m American depository shares in its IPO at $17 (£12.04) each, meaning that Oatly is valued at around $10bn (£7.08bn).

Oatly’s stock started trading on the Nasdaq today (Thursday) under the symbol OTLY.

The Malmö-based fIrm, primarily known for its oat milk products, sells its products in more than 20 markets across the US, Europe and China.

Last year Oatly raised $200 million (£141.63m) in an investment round led by private equity firm Blackstone Group and including star names such as US TV star Oprah Winfrey, actress Natalie Portman, and an entertainment company founded by Jay Z and Schultz.