DoorDash Agrees to Buy Instacart for About $17 Billion in Its Biggest Deal Yet

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29 (TodayViralUSA) — DoorDash has agreed to buy Instacart in a deal that values the grocery-delivery company at about $17 billion, bringing together the country’s largest restaurant-delivery platform and its best-known online grocery service in DoorDash’s biggest acquisition to date.

The companies said DoorDash will pay the equivalent of $65 for each share of Instacart, which trades on Nasdaq under its corporate name, Maplebear Inc. That is a 26% premium to Instacart’s closing price on Oct. 22, the last trading day before media reports of a possible deal. Instacart’s board unanimously approved the agreement.

How the deal is structured

At least 75% of the price will be paid in cash. Instacart shareholders can choose $65 in cash, 0.3372 of a DoorDash share, or a mix of $48.75 in cash plus 0.0843 of a DoorDash share for each share they own, with stock capped at a quarter of the total and prorated if too many holders choose it.

DoorDash plans to pay for the cash portion with money on hand and new borrowing. JPMorgan Chase has committed to a bridge loan of up to $13 billion, which DoorDash expects to replace with permanent financing before closing, according to a regulatory filing. The company said it aims to keep its investment-grade credit ratings. Shareholders holding about 19% of Instacart’s stock have agreed to vote in favor.

The companies expect the deal to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028. It needs approval from Instacart shareholders and must clear U.S. antitrust review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, along with regulators in Canada and Israel.

What changes for customers

DoorDash said it plans to keep the Instacart brand, app and technology products it sells to grocers. Instacart customers would gain access to more than 50,000 additional stores beyond the nearly 100,000 already on its platform, and members of DashPass and Instacart+ would pay a single membership fee, which the company estimates would save them about $100 million a year. Until the deal closes, the two will operate as separate companies.

“Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online,” DoorDash co-founder and Chief Executive Tony Xu said, describing Instacart’s expertise in picking produce and choosing substitutions. Instacart Chief Executive Chris Rogers said the combination would help “make online grocery more seamless and affordable for the millions of households we serve.”

Regulatory scrutiny expected

Analysts say the main question is whether Washington will let the deal through. The Federal Trade Commission, which typically reviews grocery and retail mergers, has made affordability a priority and has a track record of examining delivery apps’ practices, Reuters reported. On the same day the deal was announced, the agency opened a study into whether companies including DoorDash and Instacart use individual shoppers’ data to set prices and driver pay.

“There is meaningful overlap between the companies, especially in grocery delivery, so a deal would almost certainly draw antitrust scrutiny,” Emarketer analyst Zak Stambor told Reuters. DoorDash accounted for about 65% of U.S. delivery orders across restaurants, grocery and retail last year, compared with about 26% for Uber Eats and 9% for Instacart, according to YipitData figures cited by Reuters. DoorDash is expected to argue that it also competes with Walmart, Amazon and Target, which deliver groceries from their own stores.

Critics were quick to object. Groundwork Collaborative President Lindsay Owens said the merger “would be obviously illegal.” New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which reached a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash last month over allegations of underpaying workers, called it part of “a troubling trend of mega-corporations consolidating,” the BBC reported.