Swedish oat milk company Oatly valued at $2 billion after Blackstone investment
- Dan Primack, author of Axios Pro Rata
The firm's unofficial mascot "Mr. Stone" holding Oatly. Source: The Blackstone Group holiday video.
Oatly, a Swedish oat milk company, raised $200 million in growth equity funding led by The Blackstone Group at around a $2 billion valuation.
Why it matters: Alt-milk predated alt-meat, and now seems poised to follow it into the public markets.
- Other investors include Howard Schultz, Oprah Winfrey, Roc Nation, Natalie Portman, Orkila Capital, and Rabo Corporate Investments.
Flashback: Califia Farms, a Los Angeles-based almond and oat milk producer, raised $225 million earlier this year led by Qatar Investment Authority.
The bottom line: "Founded in the 1990s, Oatly entered the U.S. four years ago. The company’s 2019 sales of about $200 million were roughly double the previous year. It expects to have similar growth this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Oatly has been profitable in the past but lost money in recent years as it invested in its business." — The Wall Street Journal