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BFD Expert Voices - Retail Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Eat Just plans to take its plant-based egg division Just Egg public within the next two years, co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick tells Richard. 

In terms of its cultured meat business, Good Meat, Tetrick says the company will soon decide whether to raise another round of funding for that division or separately take it public.

Why it matters: Eat Just's fundraising plans underscore the fast growth behind the plant-based egg and meat sectors.

SPINS, a data provider, and The Good Food Institute, a nonprofit, said in a combined report that plant-based eggs grew 42% last year.

As for cultured meat, that's the kind made in a lab rather than processed with plant-based stuff (Beyond Meat, Impossible, etc.).

Catch up fast: To date, each division has separately raised more than $200 million in funding, with the parent valued at north of $1 billion.

Eat Just has to decide whether the egg and meat divisions make sense under one roof, or run as stand-alone businesses. 

Just Egg is already producing at scale, Tetrick says, while Good Meat is still figuring out how to culture meat at a rate of 15 million pounds per year (what it would take to service the U.S. market).

He puts the odds of producing cultured meat at scale at about 70%.

Flashback: To read about Tetrick's early fundraising in the space, read my colleague Dan Primack's 2017 article on what happened to the board after a funding round.

Details: Eat Just has previously worked with Bank of America, Guggenheim and AGB.

For Just Egg's IPO plans, Tetrick said he wants that unit to "hit a few more milestones before we press that button."

While the business has grown quickly within retail, he wants it to grow in foodservice and for the brand to be more recognized by consumers. Revenue is doubling year over year, he said. 

What the CEO said: Good Meat is the only cultured meat business in the world that is already producing and selling product in a market (Singapore).

Cultured meat is somewhere between science fiction and reality, the CEO said.

1 big thing: Decision time at Eat Just

Illustration of a lab coat with cow spots. 

U.K.-based apparel brand Ted Baker (LSE: TED) said it rejected two unsolicited proposals from PE firm Sycamore Partners because they both significantly undervalued the company.

The company's shares were down about 2.5% in afternoon trading today.

Why it's the BFD: Any time Sycamore makes a play for a retailer it's news, given its reputation for hard-charging turnarounds of struggling consumer brands. 

Details: On March 18 the PE firm made its first offer of 130 pence (GBP 1.30), valuing the company at £250 million.

After Ted Baker turned it down, Sycamore came back with a second offer of 137.5 pence (GBP 1.375).

Sycamore is working with investment bank Numis, according to Sky News, which first reported Sycamore's interest.

(Sycamore is also weighing bids for Boots and Kohl's.)

What they're saying: "The management actions taken over the last two years have put the business on a firm footing and it is now well on the way to recovery following a turbulent period," the company said.

The bottom line: Ted Baker's board said it believes the company has a plan that will achieve a higher share price than what Sycamore is offering.

Buckle up. Sycamore doesn't take "No" very easily for an answer. 

2. The BFD: Ted Baker's thumbs down

Illustration of a pattern of Facebook thumbs down.

CVC Capital Partners and Hellman & Friedman are among several PE firms kicking tires on InPost, a Polish provider of self-service lockers for e-commerce that listed in Amsterdam just 14 months ago, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/WujF 

Piper Sandler just downgraded Beyond Meat, predicting a 40% downside.

3. Retail therapy

Illustration of Sigmund Freud holding a collection of shopping bags.

• Hylo, a British athletic footwear startup, raised £2.5m in Series A funding. Eka Ventures led, and was joined by Redrice Ventures. http://axios.link/5zT0

• Furla, an Italian accessories brand, has tapped investment bank Lazard to explore selling a stake in the business, reports WWD. http://axios.link/wvDe

4. Retail transactions

Jaime Arrastia joins investment bank Rothschild & Co. as a managing director in the consumer, retail and leisure group and vice chairman of the global advisory business in North America. http://axios.link/AZmi

5. It's Personnel

Situational awareness: Today is the first day for Kimberly Chin (@MsKimberlyChin), who joins us from the Wall Street Journal and will be co-authoring the retail newsletter.

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March 28, 2022

1 big thing: Decision time at Eat Just