Impossible Foods exploring options for IPO or merger with SPAC, report

09-Apr-2021 - Last updated on 13-May-2024 at 10:51 GMT

'We are meat...' still from Impossible Foods' new national advertising campaign

Impossible Foods is exploring going public through an IPO (initial public offering) or a merger with a SPAC* (special purpose acquisition company) in the next 12 months, according to Reuters, which quotes sources familiar with the matter.

While the company - which has already raised well over a billion dollars in the private market - may opt to pursue another private fundraising round instead, an IPO could value it at about $10bn, dwarfing the $4bn it was worth in a private funding round las year, reported Reuters.

San Francisco-based Impossible Foods – which is backed by a range of high-profile investors from Khosla Ventures to Jay-Z — declined to comment on the Reuters article, which says it has been working with a financial adviser to help manage discussions with SPACs after receiving offers at a “lucrative valuation.”

'A full range of meats and dairy products for every cultural region in the world'

Founded by Stanford biochemist Dr Pat Brown in 2011, Impossible Foods – which has a stated goal to “produce a full range of meats and dairy products for every cultural region in the world” – is best-known for its beef burgers.

However, it is also working on steak, chicken, seafood, and eggs, and recently teased a plant-based milk product claimed to be “better than anything that comes from a cow."

While COVID-19 has presented significant challenges to the foodservice market, Impossible Foods has increased its distribution in this segment from around 20,000 to around 30,000 locations over the past year, and over-indexes in fast-food chains with options such as drive-thru and takeout, which have been less impacted by the pandemic.

Its growth in retail, meanwhile, has been even more meteoric, with distribution expanding from around 150 stores to more than 20,000 in recent months.

*A SPAC is a shell company that raises funds in an IPO with the aim of acquiring a private company. Indoor farming startup AppHarvest - which recently hired ex-Impossible Foods CFO David Lee - recently went public after completing a reverse merger with Novus Capital, a NASDAQ-traded SPAC.