Beyond Meat, a plant-based meat leader, has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. Beyond Meat intends to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “BYND.”
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse are serving as active book-running managers for the proposed offering. BofA Merrill Lynch and Jefferies are also acting as book-running managers, and William Blair is acting as co-manager for the proposed offering.
Founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown, who remains the chief executive officer, Beyond Meat now sells products in more than 30,000 grocery stores, restaurants, universities, hotels and stadiums throughout the United States, according to the company’s website. Among its key customers are Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Albersons Company, Target and TGI Fridays.
Beyond Meat’s product line includes the Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage and Beyond Chicken Strips.
The company has caught the attention of Tyson Foods, the largest broiler company and sixth largest turkey company in the United States, which in 2016 bought a five percent stake in Beyond Meat. Tyson Foods further invested in Beyond Meat about a year later, but the terms of that investment were not disclosed.
Speaking on November 6 at the 2018 Poultry Tech Summit, Reese Schroeder, managing director of Tyson Ventures, identified alternative proteins, such as the ones offered by Beyond Meat, as one of six key areas that are ripe for innovation and investment.
