DoorDash to Buy Instacart for $17B, Uniting 2 Delivery Giants

DoorDash has agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, combining the leading U.S. restaurant-delivery company with a major grocery-delivery platform. The companies’ boards approved the deal, which would pay Instacart shareholders $65 per share, mostly in cash - a premium of 11 percent over Wednesday’s closing price. DoorDash reported 993 million orders and $4.6 billion in revenue in the third quarter, while Instacart handled 90.3 million orders worth $10.4 billion and generated just over $1 billion in revenue in the second quarter. The purchase is DoorDash’s largest acquisition to date.

The deal gives DoorDash access to Instacart’s relationships with more than 2,200 retailers and a larger foothold in grocery delivery, where orders can be bigger than restaurant purchases. DoorDash has already expanded into the category, including through a partnership covering nearly 2,700 Kroger-owned stores, intensifying pressure on Instacart. Once valued at $39 billion during the pandemic grocery boom, Instacart went public in 2023 and now has a market value of about $14 billion. The acquisition comes as Amazon, Walmart and Uber also push into grocery delivery. It reflects broader consolidation among delivery companies, as businesses seek scale and more durable revenue after the gig-app boom, when many rivals struggled to make contractor-based models profitable.