Goldman Talks With Private Credit for Beyond Meat Capital

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has held conversations with private credit lenders to help shore up Beyond Meat Inc.’s liquidity, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

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The bank has been asking direct lenders to commit about $250 million of capital to Beyond Meat, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. The senior secured debt would be used for general corporate purposes and potentially repurchase some of Beyond Meat’s $1.15 billion convertible bond at a discount, they added.

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson declined to comment and a representative for Beyond Meat didn’t immediately respond.

The Los Angeles-based producer of meat substitutes has had liquidity struggles for some time while trying to find a path to profitability, announcing an 8% cut to the workforce last November. Beyond Meat’s shares are at just 3% of the high notched following 2019’s initial public offering and the convertible bond trades at deeply distressed levels of under 25 cents on the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The firm’s struggles aren’t unique as overall sector sales have softened. But Bloomberg Intelligence strategists Jennifer Bartashus and Jibril Lawal wrote in an April 5 note that “the bottom of plant-based meat sales declines may soon be reached as new products come to market and food inflation eases.”

Beyond Meat last month filed a $250 million mixed securities shelf registration, though that doesn’t necessarily indicate a sale has begun or will occur.

Read more: Fake Meat’s Hyped Burgers Became Just Another Food Fad

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