Oprah-backed vegan brand Oatly officially files for IPO

The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol OTLY

Oprah Winfrey-backed Oatly, the oat milk food brand that catapulted to stardom following its bizarre Super Bowl ad, formally filed paperwork Monday for an initial public offering. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol OTLY. 

As part of its updated F-1 registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company declared it had revenues of $421.4 million in 2020, compared with $204 million in 2019. Its losses for the year increased to $60.4 million, compared with $35.6 million a year earlier. 

The Sweden-based company, which subs in oat milk for dairy in vegan products like coffee creamers, yogurt and ice cream, has bold-faced name investors on both Wall Street and on Hollywood Boulevard. The Blackstone Group, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and actress Natalie Portman have joined Winfrey as some of the company's backers. 

Oatly hired Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse as underwriters on the offering, which could be valued at more than $5 billion, sources told Reuters.

Oatly hired Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse as underwriters on the offering, which could be valued at more than $5 billion. (Oatly)

IPO plans for the brand come as the popular milk alternative continues to saturate mainstream grocers and coffee chains. Starbucks announced in December it would roll out oat milk at all of its locations across the country starting this spring, following a successful test run in 1,300 regional coffee shops. And coffee competitor Dunkin’ debuted its Oatmilk Latte in stores nationwide last spring.

OPRAH-BACKED OATLY PLANS IPO AS OATMILK CONTINUES TO DRIVE NON-DAIRY MARKET 

News of its plan to go public comes as the brand continues to gain a cult-like consumer following. When the brand sold out of its Barista Edition Oatmilk in 2019, 12-packs of the beverage were selling for up to $226 on Amazon. (A 32-ounce carton retails for $4.99.)

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The company also made headlines in February for its eyebrow-raising Super Bowl commercial, in whichCEO Toni Petersson sings about the oat milk in a field for the entire 30-second ad.