Grocery delivery app Instacart Inc does not seek to raise much capital in its US initial public offering and instead plans to focus on the sale of employees' shares, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report added the sale of mostly employee shares would allow Instacart's staff, including some of its earliest hires, to cash in on of some of the shares they have been accumulating and also help the company retain talent.
Instacart declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.
The shares will be sold directly to new investors at an agreed-upon price ahead of a stock-market debut, according to the WSJ report.
IPO
The report on Instacart's decision comes at a time when market volatility triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring global interest rates have forced investors to pull back from backing IPOs.
Instacart said in May it had confidentially filed with the US securities regulator to go public, not long after slashing its valuation by 40% following market turbulences.
Last year, the company named Facebook Inc app head Fidji Simo as its chief executive officer, adding big tech expertise ahead of an expected stock market listing by the US grocery delivery firm.
In October of 2020, Instacart raised $200 million in a funding round, valuing the company at $17.7 billion as it cashed in on a surge in online shopping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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