Beyond Meat is supported by investors such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tyson, a US-based meat producer Beyond Meat, a US plant-based meat maker would reportedly be raising money by issuing shares, that can push the valuation of the firm at over $1 billion, during its upcoming debut in the stock market. Apparently, the company, which had launched in UK in November, is expecting to offer 8.75 million shares that are priced between $19 and $21 per share. The flotation could value the company at $1.2 billion at the upper share price range. Sources familiar with the matter informed that Beyond Meat wants to take advantage of the growing popularity of veganism and expects to strengthen its research and development activities, as well as expand its manufacturing facilities. Beyond Meat, which is supported by investors including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tyson, a US-based meat producer, anticipates obtaining gross proceeds of around $175m from the offering. Its valuation creates it a so-called unicorn firm and the term, created by Aileen Lee, a VC investor, refers to privately owned tech start-ups that are valued at $1 billion (£686 million) or higher, sources added. According to the sources, Beyond Burger of Beyond Meat was initially to be launched across 350 Tesco stores in last August, but it was delayed by 3 months due to supply issues. It has arrived into a populous UK market with additional suppliers shifting into supermarkets, and some of them are manufacturing their own-label vegan foods. Seemingly, in Great Britain, veganism is becoming more popular and in 2016, a research was conducted by the Vegan Society which estimated that there were approximately Saif Bepari0,000 vegans in the country, as compared with approximately 150,000 in 2006. Supposedly in the UK, supermarket chains are stocking extra vegan options with Waitrose opening a dedicated vegan section in more than 130 shops last year, and Iceland also reporting that the gross sales of its plant-based foods had surged by 10% in a year. Source Credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48020742