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DoorDash to Buy Instacart for $17 Billion, Expanding Grocery Delivery
· Confirmed
In Short: DoorDash announced it will acquire Instacart for $17 billion, aiming to expand its grocery delivery services.
DoorDash said Thursday it will acquire Instacart for approximately $17 billion, creating a behemoth in the grocery delivery market. The deal, expected to close by the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028, will give DoorDash access to Instacart's grocery expertise and expand its reach into retail beyond restaurants.
Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said the merger will allow the company to accelerate innovation in the grocery industry, making online grocery shopping more seamless and affordable for millions of households. 'Over the last 14 years, Instacart has transformed online grocery by helping retailers of all sizes compete and grow, and joining forces with DoorDash allows us to do even more,' Rogers said.
For DoorDash, the acquisition will allow it to use Instacart's grocery selection and substitution expertise, while Instacart will benefit from DoorDash's delivery network and technology. 'Together, we can accelerate innovation across the grocery industry and make online grocery more seamless and affordable for the millions of households we serve,' Rogers added.
The deal will be at least 75% cash, with DoorDash offering $65 per share, a 26% premium on the closing price of Instacart stock on October 22. Instacart shoppers will be able to buy from 150,000 stores, up from the current 100,000, while DoorDash will reach beyond restaurants into retail. The companies said the Instacart brand name and app would remain in place after the acquisition.
DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu said the acquisition would combine Instacart’s grocery expertise with DoorDash’s logistics and delivery capabilities. 'Instacart has spent years learning to do that well for grocers, while DoorDash has built a delivery network and technology that local stores rely on every day,' Xu said.
The deal comes as DoorDash explores stablecoin-based payment infrastructure and as competition intensifies among app-based platforms. Uber, which had been in talks to acquire Instacart, has walked away, and Instacart's stock surged after reports of the acquisition. Instacart rose 7.87% to $60.88 on October 26 after reaching a 52-week high of $62.00, then added 0.61% to $61.25 after hours.
DoorDash fell 6.1% to $168.44, and Uber slipped 0.85% to $66.13. If a signed agreement relies heavily on stock and DoorDash closes below $168.44 after, that would confirm the market’s worry about dilution, while a mostly cash deal with shares holding above that level would ease that concern.
New York City's commission on consumer and worker protections, which last month reached a $131.5m settlement with DoorDash over allegations of underpaying workers, said in a statement: 'This proposed merger continues a troubling trend of mega-corporations consolidating.'
Background
Delivery giant DoorDash is set to acquire grocery-delivery service Instacart in a deal valued at approximately $17 billion, expanding its online delivery network.
Delivery giant DoorDash announced plans to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, aiming to expand its grocery delivery services.
What's confirmed
- "Over the last 14 years, Instacart has transformed online grocery by helping retailers of all sizes compete and grow, and joining forces with DoorDash allows us to do even more," CEO Chris Rogers also said.
- Instacart shoppers will be able to buy from 150,000 stores, up from the current 100,000, while DoorDash will reach beyond restaurants into retail, the firms said.
- He added that "Instacart has spent years learning to do that well for grocers, while DoorDash has built a delivery network and technology that local stores rely on every day".
- Set us as preferred DoorDash announced Thursday that it will buy rival Instacart for $17 billion in a deal that the company says will help local businesses compete with delivery giants such as Amazon and Walmart.
- DoorDash has announced a $17 billion deal to acquire grocery delivery platform Instacart, bringing together two major players in online delivery as competition intensifies with Walmart and Amazon.
- The two companies are in "advanced talks" and a deal could be finalized this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
- DoorDash said the Instacart brand name and app would remain in place after the acquisition.
- Founded in 2012, Instacart specialises in grocery and convenience store deliveries across the United States and Canada.
- DoorDash agrees to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, expanding grocery delivery access as competition intensifies across US online delivery platforms.
- The deal will give Instacart customers access to an additional 50,000 stores covered by DoorDash, according to the company.
What's still developing
- The deal, expected to be done by the end of 2027 or first six months of 2028, is DoorDash's biggest acquisition to date, and could help it take on delivery giants like Amazon.
- Allspring Global Investments portfolio manager Matt Wittmer explains how he manages stocks in uncertain times on ‘The Claman Countdown.’ DoorDash said on Thursday it would buy Instacart in a deal valued at about $17 billion, stepping up its push into the fast-growing U.S. grocery delivery market as competition among app-based platforms intensifies.
- In a regulatory filing on Monday, Instacart said it would wind down its Caper Cart smart shopping-cart business by the end of the second quarter of 2027, expecting related pre-tax charges of $55 million to $80 million.
- These include Just Eat Takeaway acquiring Grubhub for $7.3 billion, DoorDash's purchase of Wolt and the U.K.'s Deliveroo in 2025, as well as Uber's $15 billion deal for Delivery Hero earlier this year and Postmates in 2020.
- Uber walked away, DoorDash stepped in, and now Instacart shareholders are watching their stock climb while DoorDash investors are bailing out fast, raising a real question about who actually wins in this reported grocery delivery megadeal.
- In a months-long investigation last year, the group found that identical grocery items on Instacart could differ in price by as much as 23% from one customer to the next.
- DoorDash, founded in San Francisco in 2013, initially focused on restaurant deliveries before expanding into other categories, including pet food and electronics.
- Instacart shoppers would also continue fulfilling orders through the platform, while grocery retailers would retain the option of working with either Instacart or DoorDash.
- According to the release, at least 75% of the consideration will be paid in cash, with Instacart shareholders able to elect cash, DoorDash stock or a combination of the two, subject to proration.
- DoorDash is buying rival Instacart in a deal worth roughly $17 billion, signaling that the delivery wars continue to heat up.
- Talks valued at roughly $17 billion come five years after antitrust concerns killed an earlier attempt to merge the two rivals DoorDash is in advanced talks to acquire grocery-delivery company Instacart in a deal valued at approximately $17 billion, Reuters reported on Oct. 26, 2026.
- The $17 billion is an approximate reported figure.