Beyond Meat valued at nearly $3.8 billion

Beyond Meat Inc., the company created by Ethan Brown ’94 in 2009, raised nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to grow its line of plant-based meats with shares rocketing in their public debut, wrote Ciara Linnane of MarketWatch.

According to MarketWatch, Brown, the CEO and founder of Beyond Meat, priced the initial public offering at $25 a share, raising at least $240 million at a valuation slightly shy of $1.5 billion.

However, on its first day trading on NASDAQ, Beyond Meat’s shares closed at $65.75, giving the company a market cap of around $3.8 billion, according to Time.

As of May 6, 2019, Beyond Meat (BYND) was at $74.79, according to nasdaq.com.

Beyond Meat believes there is a better way to feed the planet. The company’s mission is to “create delicious plant-based burgers, sausage, crumbles and more—made directly from simple plant-based ingredients. By shifting from animal, to plant-based meat, we are creating one savory solution that solves four growing issues attributed to livestock production: human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources and animal welfare.”

Brown is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Conn’s 2019 Reunion.