Delivery service Instacart announced Wednesday that it has confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public. The announcement comes after the company slashed its valuation and other companies are postponing their own IPOs.
According to a press release by Instacart, “The registration statement is expected to become effective after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.” The company is planning to go public as early as the end of the year, according to media reports.
Instacart last raised $265 million in March 2021, which according to a press release by the brand, increased its valuation to $39 billion. One year later, the company slashed its valuation 38% to $24 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing market conditions and a desire to be closer to the actual valuation it would have in the public market.
The San Francisco-based company has endured several tumultuous years as it evolved beyond grocery delivery and into a general merchandise platform. Revenue and customer count soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, with wait times for deliveries stretching to days, as shoppers chose to stay home rather than do in-person shopping trips. Yet as the country reopened, many consumers chose to return to in-store shopping.
In response, Instacart has explored new ways to draw shoppers to its app, such as allowing creators to develop shoppable recipes that connect to its platform. Over the past year it has added profile pages for CPG brands and gone after dollars spent on restaurant takeout, launching a ready-made-meals storefront featuring offerings from retailers including Publix, GIANT, Stop & Shop, Kroger, and ShopRite.
The company has also added new services and classes of business, including a partnership with Aramark to test a new contactless checkout system at Fenway Park in Boston.
During that same time, Instacart saw several leadership changes. Last July the company announced that current CEO Apoorva Mehta would transition to executive chairman of the board, with Facebook’s Fidji Simo assuming the leadership role. At the time the company hinted that it was planning to go public, with Mehta stating in a press release that Simo’s time at Facebook “during its transition from a private company to the public market,” would be an asset.
Four days after the CEO swap was announced, Simo appointed fellow Facebook executive Carolyn Everson as President, succeeding then president Nilam Ganenthiran. But four months later, Everson departed the company for undisclosed reasons.
The news of Instacart’s possible public offering comes as yogurt and beverage brand Chobani has postponed its own IPO, citing challenging market conditions.car