IPO

Biomaterials company Bolt Threads has announced plans to become a public company listed on the Nasdaq through a SPAC agreement.

Dan Widmaier - Image courtesy of Ashley Batz for Bolt Threads
Investments & Finance

Bolt Threads Enters $250 Million SPAC Agreement to Go Public on Nasdaq with Sustainable Biomaterials

Biomaterials company Bolt Threads has announced it will become a public company listed on the Nasdaq through a SPAC agreement that values the company (Bolt Threads) at $250 million.  A pioneer in biomaterials with two sustainable products in the market, Mylo™ and b-silk™, the company will merge with Golden Arrow Merger Corp. (Nasdaq: GAMC). After the closing of the deal, the combined company will be named “Bolt Projects Holdings, Inc.” and is expected to remain listed on Nasdaq under “BSLK”. Dan Widmaier, founder and CEO of Bolt Threads, will lead the new company.  Mylo bag ©Bolt Threads Distributing biomaterials According to the statement, the concurrent financing deals are expected to provide at least $35 million of gross proceeds to the company, including fully committed common stock PIPE of up …

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LomaLinda_TUNO_Lifestyle

Loma Linda / Atlantic Natural Foods
Stock market

Above Food Corp. to Be Listed on NY Exchange Through SPAC, Plans Takeover of Atlantic Natural Foods

Canada’s Above Food, producer of plant-based ingredients and CPGs, is to list on the NY exchange through a SPAC transaction with Bite Acquisition Corp. Additionally, the company is set to purchase Atlantic Natural Foods, whose subsidiaries include plant-based brands Loma Linda, CHICK’N, and Tuno, as part of the IPO. Above Food Corp. and Bite Acquisition Corp. enter a definitive business combination agreement that values the company at a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $319 million. Upon completion of the proposed transaction, Above Food will be a publicly traded company and is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol “ABVE.” Above Food is a differentiated, vertically integrated plant-based ingredients and foods company committed to regenerative agriculture and sustainable food technologies …

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stock market

© Jackie Niam – stock.adobe.com
Stock market

Number of IPOs Worldwide Dropped by Almost Half Throughout 2022

Balance for 2022 as a whole: the number of IPOs in 2022 falls by 45 percent compared to the record year 2021, volume by 61 percent / 50 percent fewer IPOs in the fourth quarter, issue volume shrinks by 73 percent. These are the results of the current IPO barometer of the audit and consulting firm EY. Companies continued to hold back on IPOs towards the end of the year: a total of 334 companies worldwide took the plunge in the fourth quarter – 50 percent fewer than in the fourth quarter of the record year 2021. The issue volume fell by 73 percent to 31.9 billion US dollars. The picture is similar for the year as a whole: the number of IPOs worldwide fell …

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Karim Pichara & Matias Muchnick © NotCo
Fundraising

NotCo Raises $70M to Catapult New B2B Platform Ahead of IPO

NotCo announces it has closed $70M in Series D1 funding to “catapult” a new B2B unit and accelerate the transformation of the industry, with Forbes suggesting today that the Chilean unicorn is “actively preparing for an IPO likely in 2025”. “These partnerships will help diversify and accelerate our impact while scaling the accessibility of truly delicious plant-based options to further propel the industry forward” The new platform will enable other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and tech providers to leverage NotCo’s AI platform “Giuseppe” for their own innovations, while NotCo will continue to operate its branded business, NotCo Food, offering products like NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ through both retail and food service across the US. Kraft Heinz Not Company The news comes three days after the …

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Mushroom MycoTechnology

© MycoTechnology
Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

MycoTechnology Closes $85M Series E, Bringing Total Raise to $200M, in Preparation for IPO?

MycoTechnology, Inc., which describes itself as the world’s leading explorer of mushroom mycelia, announces it has closed a Series E round of $85 million bringing its total to over $200M. Notable returning investors in the round include Tyson Ventures and Maple Leaf Foods. IPO in late 2022? Tyson, Greenleaf Foods, and Kellogg’s were notable participants in the company’s August 2020 Series D, during which an IPO for late 2022 was discussed, with CEO Alan Hahn commenting to FoodNavigator at the time that there were some exciting projects coming up that may “trigger” the opportunity to become publicly listed. In the November of that same year, Mycotechnology was named winner, along with BlueNalu, of Syngenta’s Radicle Protein Challenge, an initiative to invest a total of $1.25 …

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Nepra Foods meatballs

© Nepra Foods
Company News

Nepra Foods, Producer of “Game-Changing” Hemp Protein, Projects Revenue Increase of $3.5M Following IPO

Nepra Foods, creator of hemp-based, gluten-free foods, announces the full operation of its first dedicated extrusion line, which was installed in their Colorado facility last November. This new addition is set to exponentially increase ingredient output and boost overall sales revenue, particularly for its textured hemp protein. Founded in 2016, Nepra Foods is a multi-category market leader in allergen-free and plant-based food ingredients. Following a successful IPO in Canada in September 2021, the alt-protein company also entered the US securities market two months afterwards. The company is best known as the developer of an innovative hemp protein that it describes as “game-changing” textured hemp protein, or THP. Conventional TVP is usually made with soy, wheat, or pea proteins, but as these are common allergens, they …

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Fresh Factory listed

©The Fresh Factory
Food & Beverage

Plant-Based Accelerator Backed by Kimbal Musk Debuts on Canadian Stock Exchange

The Fresh Factory, a vertically integrated platform for launching clean-label plant-based foods, announced it has joined the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE symbol: FRSH) in a bid to attract that country’s venture capitalists. Headquartered just outside of Chicago, The Fresh Factory was created to accelerate the growth of healthier plant-based products. Led by a team of food and marketing veterans, including good food advocate Kimbal Musk, it operates a fully-equipped manufacturing facility that can quickly launch and scale innovative new brands. Such speed is invaluable, according to the company, because most current food and beverage infrastructure is designed for large brands with huge production runs, and is thus often limited and inefficient. In contrast, Fresh Factory’s flexibility and smaller run sizes allow it to meet the …

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Kory Zelickson Vejii

Kory Zelickson ©Vejii
Interviews

Vejii Goes Public: “We Think This is Very Exciting & Indicative Of the Larger Potential Of the Market As a Whole”

Vejii, the largest sustainability-focused online marketplace in North America, announces it has become publicly listed on the CSE under the ticker VEJI. The platform, which delivers to 48 states, today becomes one of the few plant-based companies in the world to go public. Vegconomist sits down with CEO Kory Zelickson to hear more about the company’s big news. Why did you decide to go public? First of all, thanks for interviewing me, vegconomist.  I love and appreciate your coverage in the vegan business space.  My Co-Founder Darren Gill and I decided to take Vejii public to have more efficient access to and deployment of growth capital.  In addition, we wanted to have the ability to execute M&A strategies, which also offer interested investors in the …

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©Allbirds
Fashion, Design & Beauty

Allbirds Files NASDAQ Listing With Plans For Huge Retail Expansion Despite Losses

Sustainable footwear brand Allbirds this Tuesday revealed it has applied to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BIRD. The NY Times reports that the B Corp, which was valued at around $1.7 billion in 2020, brought in about $219 million in revenue last year, Allbirds was founded in 2014 by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger in New Zealand, setting out as a DTC brand specialising in sustainability. In an interview from back in 2018, Zwillinger stated that an IPO was “not desirable for a variety of reasons,” and that the Allbirds had been “profitable since basically day one.”  As has been widely reported, the company has reported major financial losses and admits it will continue to be unprofitable for …

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Odd Burger founders

© Odd Burger

Interviews

Odd Burger: “We See Ourselves as a Massive Player in the Fast-Food Space With Hundreds of Locations Around the World”

Hailing from Canada and recently rebranded from Globally Local, Odd Burger can hold the claim of being one of the world’s first vegan fast-food chains and the first to go public. With its fresh new look and expansive plans for the future, Odd Burger is a fast-food brand that always has one eye on the bigger picture. Vegconomist got together with Co-Founder and CEO James McInnes to talk food tech, franchising, and the vegan fast-food future. First of all, could you explain the process behind your recent rebranding to Odd Burger? The process took over a year to develop and roll out, and included trademark registrations, domain name registrations, social media handle changes, as well as all-new packaging, store design and signage. It’s a daunting …

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NotCo IPO

©NotCo

Investments & Finance

NotCo Achieves its Target of Unicorn Status, Securing $235M From Investors Including Lewis Hamilton & Roger Federer

NotCo, has raised $235 million in a Series D funding round led by Tiger Global, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion, thus surpassing its target of achieving unicorn status. Athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer and musician and DJ Questlove participated in the round. In June of this year, CEO Matias Muchnick said to vegconomist in response to its upcoming IPO: “Since day one we’ve been looking to challenge the industry as a whole. Unlike companies that focus solely on alt-meats or alt-milk, we are the only company already selling products in key animal protein substitute areas with NotMilk, NotBurger, NotIceCream and NotMayo in five different countries. We are the only global company to disrupt massive food and beverage simultaneously. Unicorn status will allow …

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© Eat JUST
Top Stories

Eat Just to Pursue Potential IPO to the Tune of $3 Billion?

After recently raising $170 million for the expansion of its cell-based meat division GOOD MEAT, San Francisco startup Eat Just is considering making moves towards an IPO in Q4 of this year or Q1 of the next. With a target valuation of $3 billion, the IPO could potentially establish Just Eat at the forefront of the cell-cultured meat revolution.  According to a report from Forbes, the producer of the industry-disrupting plant-based JUST Egg is targeting “at least” $3 billion in valuation in its potential public listing, with Co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick confirming an IPO is “definitely getting closer.” Recently named as a “World-Changing Company of the Year” by Fast Company, Eat Just is said to be on track to reach several breakthroughs with its …

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©Yumy Bear

Founder Erica WIlliams ©Yumy Bear
Stock market

Canada’s Female-Owned Vegan Candy Brand Yumy Bear Reveals $50M IPO

Canadian confectionery brand Yumy Bear – the low-sugar, vegan gummy specialist – will begin trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in July under the symbol “YUMY”. The female-led startup anticipates a $50 million enterprise value, while also revealing plans for US expansion in 2022. “Unique gummy candy that is delicious and optimal for health-conscious people that also care about animal welfare”  Based in Vancouver, Yumy Bear was launched by fitness coach and athlete Erica Williams. After identifying a market gap for healthier and more affordable candy alternatives, Yummy Bear was born, using a proprietary formulation process that allows juicier and softer texture using plant-based ingredients. The company has already raised $2.5 million in an oversubscribed round and hopes the IPO will attract new investors, …

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NotCo Matias Muchnick & Danny Meyer Cropped

NotCo Matias Muchnick & Danny Meyer, image supplied
Investments & Finance

NotCo Announces Danny Meyer Investment as it Prepares for IPO With a View to Unicorn Status

Latin American phenomenon NotCo today announces an investment from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), where Shake Shack founder and QSR trailblazer, Danny Meyer, is a partner. The news comes amid the run-up to its planned IPO, aiming for unicorn status, with CEO Matias Muchnick stating, “It has to be for a valuation of $1 billion […] We won’t budge from there.” “The potential is so vast that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity” The investment will be strategic for the Chilean startup in boosting its ability to expand into the U.S. and NYC Foodservice market. Having launched its NotMilk™ in the U.S. nationwide at Whole Foods Market just a few months ago, the brand has already confirmed distribution in more than 3,000 stores in the first …

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Oatly Ice Cream in Mainland China Taobao

© Oatly
Company News

Oatly Set for Further Expansion in China Following IPO Success 

The now publicly owned Swedish oat milk giant Oatly will be expanding its retail channels in China. Oatly will be furthering its growth in the largest and fastest-growing market for dairy alternatives after securing $2.12 billion in its recent IPO. China is the plant-based market on everybody’s lips as its potential continues to grow as well as its strategic importance. After first entering the market in 2018, Oatly products are currently available in over 11,000 cafes and 6,000 brick-and-mortar stores across China, with that now set to expand. Oatly recently entered a joint investment partnership worth $30 million with Singapore’s Yeo Hiap Seng to produce Oatly’s products outside Europe and North America for the first time. China is a particularly crucial market to Oatly as …

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Toni Petersson, CEO Oatly.

Oatly CEO Toni Peterson, Image by Lars Jansson
Stock market

Oatly Commences Hotly Anticipated IPO With $10Bn Target Valuation

Oatly Group AB announces today Tues 11th May that it has commenced its IPO of 84,376,000 American Depositary Shares, each representing one ordinary share offered by Oatly and certain selling shareholders. Around 20 million of those shares were from existing investors, who include Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman and Jay-Z. Oatly will list its shares under “OTLY” on Nasdaq.

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©Globally Local
Company News

Globally Local – World’s First Publicly Listed Vegan Fast Food Chain – Announces First 5 of 20 New Locations

After becoming the first vegan fast-food chain to be publicly listed, Canada’s Globally Local has announced plans to open five new Ontario restaurant locations in Summer 2021. Additionally – subject to policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange’s Venture Exchange – certain consultants of the parent company Globally Local Technologies have been granted 150,000 options ‎to ‎purchase common shares of the company. The 150,000 share options offered by the company will be exercisable at $1.55 per share for a term of two years.

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