(Bloomberg) — Oatly Group AB, the vegan food and drink maker, priced its initial public offering at the top of a marketed range to raise more than $1.4 billion with its investors, according to a person familiar with the matter.The company sold its American depositary shares for $17 each on Wednesday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information wasn’t public yet. The Swedish company and its investors were planning to sell more than 84 million shares for $15 to $17 each.U.S. markets fell for the third day in a row, with the S&P 500 falling 0.3% Wednesday. The IPO price was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.A representative for Oatly didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.The IPO underscores plant-based products’ jump into the mainstream, as environmental and health concerns spur consumers to seek alternatives to traditional meat and dairy products. Investors have been looking for ways to replicate the public-market success of Beyond Meat Inc., whose shares have surged more than 300% since it went public in May 2019.Oatly was started in 1994 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.In July, Oatly secured $200 million in new capital from investors led by Blackstone Group Inc. The group also included celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z, as well as former Starbucks Corp. founder Howard Schultz. The company was valued at about $2 billion in the round.Oatly’s offering is being led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse Group AG. The shares are expected to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol OTLY.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
