Grocery delivery platform Instacart confidently filed with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO) and could list before the year closes, the company said in a statement on Thursday (May 12).
Launched a decade ago and headquartered in Silicon Valley, Instacart has been the subject of chatter about going public for almost two years. The company has now submitted a draft registration statement with the SEC.
See also: Instacart Talks To Bankers About An IPO
CEO Fidji Simo said in March that the company wasn’t rushing to go public and instead was planning to pursue the goal of building “a great business over the long term.”
Instacart cut its valuation by nearly 40% to $24 billion in March to attract talent through stock awards, Simo said at the time. The company’s value escalated during the lockdowns of the worldwide pandemic.
Simo, a former Facebook executive, took the helm last August and created new revenue streams for the company, such as selling its services directly to supermarkets. Co-founder and former CEO Apoorva Mehta became executive chairman of the board and said at the time that Simo would help take the company public, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Read more: Instacart CEO Plans to Build Company, Not IPO
Instacart raised more than $265 million in March 2021 at a $39 billion valuation and went on to become the biggest grocery delivery company, with Kroger and Walmart among its biggest customers.
For the IPO the company is working with Goldman Sachs Group and J.P. Morgan Chase, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources with insider information. Neither bank was available for comment.
The company’s move to go public comes at a volatile time in the stock market, with the Dow Jones down for four consecutive days. Minus special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) offerings, just 52 firms went public this year raising $4.4 billion —compared with 201 listings last year in the same period topping $71 billion, according to Bloomberg data.
Read more: After Pandemic Success, Instacart Faces Struggle in Grocery Delivery Sector
Instacart saw a 330% surge in sales from 2019 to 2020 but hit a wall with 15% growth last year. Its market share dropped to 30% from 40%.
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