DoorDash to Buy Instacart for $17 Billion, Promising One Membership Fee

DoorDash agreed Thursday to buy grocery delivery rival Instacart for about $17 billion, a deal it says would let members of both services pay one membership fee instead of two.

DoorDash will pay $65 for each Instacart share, the companies announced. That is a 26% premium to Instacart’s Oct. 22 close, the last trading day before media reports of a possible sale.

At least 75% of the price will be paid in cash. Instacart shareholders can choose cash, DoorDash stock or a mix, with stock capped at 25% of the total. Instacart’s board approved the deal unanimously.

DoorDash plans to cover the cash with money on hand and new debt. JPMorgan Chase committed to a bridge loan of up to $13 billion, DoorDash said in a securities filing.

DoorDash shares jumped about 6% in morning trading, while Instacart, formally Maplebear Inc., was flat at $58.35, Reuters reported. Instacart shares had hit a record $62 on Monday. The acquisition is DoorDash’s biggest yet.

What Changes for Shoppers

DoorDash said DashPass and Instacart+ members would pay a single fee, saving an estimated $100 million a year in membership costs. Instacart customers could also shop at more than 50,000 additional stores, on top of nearly 100,000 today.

DoorDash pledged to keep Instacart’s brand and app, said grocers would not be required to use its delivery service exclusively, and said Instacart shoppers could choose whether to take DoorDash orders.

“Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online. Someone has to pick a ripe avocado, find a substitute you’d choose yourself, and get the ice cream to you before it melts,” said DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu.

Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said the combination would help “make online grocery more seamless and affordable for the millions of households we serve.”

The merger would give DoorDash more scale against Walmart and Amazon, which run their own store, warehouse and delivery networks.

“Restaurant delivery is maturing, and growth now lies in more frequent, higher-value orders: weekly grocery shops, convenience items, and retail,” Morningstar analyst Martin Szumski said.

Regulators will have the final say. The deal is expected to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, pending antitrust approval in the U.S., Canada and Israel and a vote of Instacart shareholders.

Holders of about 19% of Instacart’s shares have already agreed to vote in favor. If the deal collapses under certain conditions, Instacart would owe DoorDash $650 million, while DoorDash would owe Instacart $1.25 billion.

“The main risk is regulatory approval,” CFRA Research analysts wrote, adding that the long timeline suggests both sides expect an extended antitrust review.

“The current regulatory backdrop is generally favorable, but the long closing window leaves the deal exposed to changes in policy,” they said.

Wedbush analysts wrote that third-party platforms “remain a minority of total grocery consumption,” but that narrower definitions of the online market “can make approvals more challenging,” CNBC reported.

Instacart has drawn federal scrutiny before. It paid $60 million last December to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it misled users with false advertising.

Opposition has already surfaced. New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which reached a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash last month over worker pay, said, “This proposed merger continues a troubling trend of mega-corporations consolidating.”

Both companies also reported quarterly results Thursday. Instacart posted net income of $147 million as revenue rose 17%, then suspended its financial guidance and canceled its Nov. 5 earnings call. DoorDash reported record quarterly revenue and net income.

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