Representatives of grocery-delivery powerhouse Instacart have met with investment bankers to explore taking the company public, the Financial Times (FT) reported.
News of the potential public offering comes as Instacart announced on Thursday (Oct. 8) that it had received $200 million in new capital from existing investors Valiant Peregrine Fund and D1 Capital Partners, boosting Instacart’s valuation to $17.7 billion.
“Instacart’s fundraising came as it held discussions with banks about a long-awaited public offering, which could come as soon as the first half of next year, according to people with knowledge of the talks,” FT reported. “The company declined to comment.”
An Instacart IPO would likely be one of the biggest in the U.S. next year, FT reported.
Instacart uses smartphone apps to connect customers with “shoppers” who pick up goods and deliver them to the customers. Instacart states in promotional materials that it has relationships with 500 retailers that have 40,000 locations in the United States and Canada.
In an announcement regarding the new funding, Instacart said on its website: “We expect to deploy the new capital in a number of ways, including: product development focused on introducing new features and tools to enhance the customer experience, continued investment in Instacart Enterprise to support retailers’ end-to-end ecommerce needs, and further investment in Instacart Ads to help connect Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands of all sizes to customers shopping online from their favorite local retailers.”
“Our conviction in the strength of Instacart’s management team and business model continues to grow as we’ve watched the company lead this important industry during a period of unprecedented growth,” Dan Sundheim, founder of D1 Capital Partners, said in a press release. “The opportunity for Instacart is significant, and we’re proud to once again increase our investment in the business.”
Instacart said it has already surpassed its 2025 milestones and is tracking to exceed $35 billion in grocery sales in 2020, PYMNTS reported.
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