Instacart’s slow IPO delivery spoils the goods
by Reuters
2023-08-21
NEW YORK, Aug 18(Reuters Breakingviews) - Instacart may finally be in the market for new investors. The grocery delivery company is set to submit an initial public offering prospectus to regulators as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported. Ever since founder Apoorva Mehta handed the reins to Fidji Simo two years ago, the idea has been to prep for a market debut. Had it moved faster, it arguably might have bagged a better outcome.
Fund managers were on a shopping spree when Simo was appointed Instacart's boss in August 2021. More than 300 companies unveiled plans to go public that year, a number not seen since 2000, according to Jay Ritter at the University of Florida. Earlier that year, Instacart had been valued at $39 billion when it raised money from Andreessen Horowitz, T. Rowe Price and others, and restive employees were looking to cash out.
The slow IPO delivery has spoiled the goods. Today, the 11-year-old company is worth only about $13 billion, according to technology news service the Information. Instacart may be better prepared for life as a public company now, and the window for new listings is cracking open again, but there are bound to be repercussions from allowing perfect to be the enemy of the good. (By Jennifer Saba)
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(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are their own.)
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