Report: Instacart to Make IPO Plans Public in Coming Week

Online grocery marketplace Instacart is reportedly gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) as early as September.

The firm is anticipated to make its IPO plans public by filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the coming week, Bloomberg reported Friday (Aug. 18), citing unnamed sources.

Reached by PYMNTS, Instacart declined to comment on the report.

Rather than opting for a direct listing, as it had previously considered, the company is said to be opting to pursue a traditional IPO on the Nasdaq, according to the Bloomberg report.

The forthcoming IPO filing is expected to shed light on Instacart’s financials and operations, the report said. Although the initial filing might only contain a placeholder for the terms of the offering, subsequent filings will likely provide specifics on the proposed size and price of the share sale.

Instacart confidentially filed with the SEC in 2022 for a public debut, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. among the banks assisting the company, per the report.

The decision to move forward comes after Instacart had delayed its IPO plans due to market conditions, according to the report. In a memo to staff last year, CEO Fidji Simo acknowledged the “extremely tumultuous” markets, deeming it “highly unlikely” for an IPO to occur at that time.

Additionally, the company had adjusted its internal valuation to approximately $13 billion, down from the $24 billion valuation earlier in the year, the report said. Instacart, as a startup, has raised $2.74 billion and was valued at $39 billion in 2021.

If Instacart proceeds with its IPO, it could inject momentum into a market that has experienced a decline in IPO activity compared to the previous year, per the report. Only $14 billion has been raised by 109 companies through IPOs on US exchanges this year, a significant drop from the $241 billion raised in 745 listings at the same point two years earlier, in 2021.

Earlier reports had suggested that Instacart could be one of the high-profile IPOs to be launched this year. However, demand for IPOs has remained muted due to inflation and rising interest rates.