Exclusive: Instacart mulls direct listing in snub to IPOs - sources

FILE PHOTO: Instacart employee Eric Cohn, 34, loads an order into his car outside a Fry's grocery store while wearing a respirator mask to help protect himself and slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., April 4, 2020. Picture taken April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo

(Reuters) - U.S. grocery delivery app Instacart is considering going public through a direct listing, concerned that it could leave money on the table through a traditional initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the matter.

The move would make Instacart the latest company to snub an IPO, for decades the primary path to a stock market debut, because it risks pricing its offering too low compared to where its shares end up trading. In a direct listing, companies go public without raising money through a stock sale.