Bill Gates-Backed Vegan Burger Maker "Beyond Meat" Files for IPO
Beyond Meat Inc., the maker of vegan chicken and beef substitutes including the Beyond Burger, filed for a U.S. initial public offering.
The company filed with an initial offering size of $100 million, which is a placeholder thats likely to change. The companys backers include Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and Don Thompson, McDonalds Corp.s former chief executive officer.
Beyond Meat, based in El Segundo, California, was founded in 2009 and initially focused on a frozen-chicken substitute and has taken advantage of vegan diet preferences to go more mainstream. Now, its best known for the Beyond Burger, which is made to look, cook and taste like traditional ground beef, according to the companys filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Its products are sold by grocers such as Kroger and Whole Foods, as well as appearing on restaurant menus for TGI Fridays and A&W Canada, the company said in its filing.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-17/bill-gates-backed-vegan-burger-maker-beyond-meat-files-for-ipo