One of Postmates’ IPO meetings with Wall Street, its modeling day, was also pushed back at least once this spring, a delay that made some investors and analysts “queasy,” according to one of those sources. Those concerns, however, were not shared with Postmates, its board, or its bankers directly, and so the sources say it did not affect Postmates’ IPO timing. Some analysts who met with Postmates in recent months told others in the industry that they had concerns over the company’s financial footing, according to people familiar with the matter. Others close to the situation insist Postmates is “full-steam ahead” on preparing for an IPO.Įither way, the acquisition talks help explain why Postmates - five months after stating very publicly that it planned to IPO - has not visibly taken some of the steps required to pursue that action.Īll this back-and-forth with potential acquirers comes amid signs that Postmates could have trouble on Wall Street.
One person briefed on Postmates’ plans said that it very much is trying to avoid an IPO and that its first choice is to be bought - if a deal can be arranged at the right price. If Postmates sold to a competitor like DoorDash or Uber, each with its own controversial workers’ practices, the situation for Postmates’ workforce of contractors might get worse rather than better.Īnd lastly, if Postmates were to sell, it would also reveal some aftershock of how Uber and Lyft’s disappointing IPOs are impacting the plans of other high-profile IPO prospects.Īs of now, Postmates appears still slated to head public, albeit on a much-delayed schedule.
That classification has been criticized by workers’ right groups because it deprives them of certain benefits that full-time employees enjoy. Delivery startups like Postmates have drawn recent criticism for their relationships with couriers, who deliver more than food and technically are contractors rather than employees. It could also shape the reinvigorated conversation around labor rights in Silicon Valley. Or maybe it would remove needed competition and allow middlemen to raise your prices. On one hand, it could allow for dominant players like UberEats to achieve cost savings that would make your dinner cheaper. Why does this matter? Well, an acquisition could affect the prices that Americans pay for food delivery. “But at the same time, we don’t have to take that path.” Is there a super company that we could create that would make a lot of sense?” Postmates CFO Kristin Schaefer said in February, just before the company filed to go public. “Eventually, you’ll probably see some consolidation, and I think we always like to think a few steps ahead. Postmates has about 10 percent of total market share across the US. The company pointed to Second Measure data that showed Postmates is growing faster than UberEats and GrubHub nationally, while remaining especially popular in places like Los Angeles. Postmates is trying to keep its options open: It has also been considering following through with its much-delayed IPO, or raising a private round of financing that could push its IPO even further out, these sources say.Ī Postmates spokesperson said it disputed Recode’s reporting but declined to specify on the record what the company actually was disputing. The clearest sign that Postmates - which was expected to be the next hot consumer-industry IPO - has seriously considered a sale: It has been working with Qatalyst Partners, the boutique investment bank famous for selling tech companies, people familiar with the matter told Recode. Staring at a public market that has been unkind toward consumer IPOs like Lyft and Uber, Postmates in recent months has had persistent talks with many of the likeliest acquirers in the space, including DoorDash, Walmart, and Uber, which operates UberEats, according to multiple sources.
And yet no end has appeared in sight.īut Recode has learned that one of the most prominent of these startups, Postmates, has explored a sale instead of becoming a standalone public company, which it announced plans to do in February. The US doesn’t need so many venture-backed companies in an industry defined by low margins, similar services, and fickle customer loyalty. A half-dozen American food-delivery companies are battling for dominance.Ĭonsolidation seems inevitable.
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