DoorDash Instacart Deal: $17 Billion Grocery Delivery Merger
DoorDash has agreed to buy Instacart for $65 per share, an equity value of about $17 billion (roughly €15.3 billion), the companies announced on October 29, 2026. The DoorDash Instacart deal combines the largest US restaurant delivery app with the leading grocery delivery platform, but it still needs shareholder and antitrust approval and is not expected to close before the end of 2027.
The price is a 26% premium to Instacart’s closing share price on October 22, the last trading day before reports of a possible sale appeared. Instacart’s board approved the agreement unanimously, and holders of about 19% of Instacart’s shares have already agreed to vote for it.
DoorDash Instacart Deal Terms: Mostly Cash
According to the official DoorDash announcement, at least 75% of the payment will be in cash. For each share, Instacart (legally Maplebear Inc.) stockholders can choose:
- $65.00 in cash (about €58.40)
- 0.3372 DoorDash shares
- A mix of $48.75 in cash and 0.0843 DoorDash shares
Stock is capped at 25% of the total, so elections may be prorated. DoorDash will fund the cash with cash on hand and new debt, backed by a 364-day bridge loan from JPMorgan Chase, and says it aims to keep its investment-grade credit rating.
What Changes for Customers and Shoppers
DoorDash says Instacart customers would gain access to more than 50,000 additional stores on top of the nearly 100,000 stores Instacart lists today. DashPass and Instacart+ subscribers would pay one membership fee instead of two, which DoorDash estimates would save members about $100 million a year in total.
After closing, DoorDash plans to keep the Instacart brand, app and enterprise technology that grocers use to run their own online stores. It also promised that grocers will not be locked into exclusive deals, and that Instacart Shoppers can choose whether to take DoorDash orders. Until the deal closes, both companies keep operating separately.
“Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online,” DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said in the announcement. Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said the combination would let the company “accelerate innovation across the grocery industry.”
Regulators and Global Reach
The deal needs clearance under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law plus approvals in Canada and Israel. Critics, including the American Economic Liberties Project, have already asked the FTC to block it, while supporters of the deal point to competition from Walmart and Amazon, which has pushed into 1-hour delivery.
Outside the US, DoorDash already operates in more than 40 countries through brands including Wolt and Deliveroo, so the Instacart grocery technology could eventually reach European markets. The company has also been testing new delivery methods, from FAA-approved drone delivery to autonomous delivery robots. Coverage from CNBC notes that speculation about the deal had been building for a week before the announcement.
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