DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about $17bn

DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about $17bn

29 October 2026: DoorDash has agreed to buy Instacart, legally Maplebear Inc., for $65 a share, an equity value the companies put at about $17 billion, with at least 75% paid in cash. Instacart's board approved the deal unanimously. For the grocers and retailers that run their online stores, fulfilment or retail media on Instacart's software, DoorDash says it will keep Instacart's brand, app and enterprise technology products, and that local grocers will remain free to work with any delivery platform.

Not yet independently verified. This rests on DoorDash's own release and the 8-K it filed with the SEC on 29 October. The closing date is the companies' own expectation and depends on antitrust review in the US, Canada and Israel. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The terms

Each Instacart shareholder can choose $65 in cash, 0.3372 DoorDash shares, or a mix of $48.75 in cash and 0.0843 DoorDash shares, with stock capped at 25% of the total and prorated if oversubscribed. The price is a 26% premium to Instacart's close on 22 October, the last trading day before press reports of a possible deal. DoorDash will pay the cash from its own reserves and new debt, backed by a 364-day bridge loan commitment from JPMorgan Chase Bank, and says it is aiming to keep investment-grade ratings. There is no financing condition. Holders of about 19% of Instacart's shares have agreed to vote in favour.

What happens to Instacart's retailer software

Instacart is more than a consumer app. Grocers use its technology to run their own websites, fulfil online orders and sell advertising to brands through retail media networks. The release says the combined company will offer grocers and retailers DoorDash's delivery network and Instacart's grocery and fulfilment technology, both in the two apps and on stores' own websites, along with each company's advertising and AI tools. It also says more grocers could add capacity for online orders through DashMart Fulfillment Services, DoorDash's own fulfilment operation.

Two commitments are aimed at retailers directly: "no grocery exclusivity", meaning local grocers can keep using any delivery platform, and the retention of Instacart's enterprise technology products after closing. Retailers whose contracts run past 2027 will want to see how those commitments are written into the merger agreement filed with the SEC, since a press release is not a contract.

A long wait for regulators

The companies expect to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, subject to Instacart shareholders, the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period in the US, approvals in Canada and Israel, and the usual conditions. Until then they will operate as separate companies. DoorDash, founded in 2013, already owns Deliveroo, Wolt and the restaurant software company SevenRooms. Instacart's chief executive, Chris Rogers, said the company has spent 14 years "helping retailers of all sizes compete and grow".

Our retail management systems category lists 21 products and our delivery management category eight. Centerview Partners and J.P. Morgan Securities advise DoorDash; Goldman Sachs advises Instacart.

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Sources

• DoorDash: DoorDash to Acquire Instacart to Help Local Stores Win, 29 October 2026
• DoorDash, Inc. Form 8-K with Exhibit 99.1 (SEC EDGAR, accession 0001140361-26-041111), 29 October 2026