Naomi Osaka-backed Sweetgreen targets up to $2.7 billion valuation in IPO

(Reuters) -Tennis star Naomi Osaka-backed salad chain Sweetgreen Inc said on Tuesday it was seeking a valuation of up to $2.7 billion in its initial public offering in the United States.

The Los Angeles, California-based company plans to sell 12.5 million shares priced between $23 and $25 each, aiming to raise up to $312.5 million at the top end of the range.

Plant-based food companies have attracted investor attention over the past few years, particularly as more people gravitate to healthy and environment-friendly food.

Much of the demand is being led by millennials and generation Z consumers, who are more than willing to spend on sustainable products that are also healthy.

The company was valued at $1.8 billion after a funding round earlier this year, according to media reports. T.Rowe Price, Lone Pine Capital and D1 Capital Partners are among its other investors.

Sweetgreen, which was founded in 2007, expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘SG’.

Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Allen & Company are among the underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Shailesh Kuber)