DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about $17 billion in a cash-and-stock deal
DoorDash, Inc. and Maplebear Inc., which operates as Instacart, announced on Thursday 29 October 2026 that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which DoorDash will acquire Instacart for $65.00 per share, an equity value of approximately $17 billion, per the companies' own joint announcement, read in full. At least 75% of the consideration will be cash, Instacart's board has unanimously approved the agreement, and the companies expect the transaction to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, subject to Instacart stockholder approval and regulatory approvals including in Canada and Israel. Reuters and the BBC report the same $17 billion deal and the same $65-per-share value.
Key points
- DoorDash will acquire Instacart (Maplebear Inc.) for $65.00 per share, an equity value of approximately $17 billion, under a definitive agreement announced by the two companies on Thursday 29 October 2026 and read in full — at least 75% cash, with DoorDash stock capped at 25% of the consideration; Instacart's board approved the agreement unanimously.
- The price is a 26% premium to Instacart's closing price on 22 October 2026; stockholders holding about 19% of Instacart's shares have agreed to vote in favour.
- Closing is expected at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, subject to Instacart stockholder approval, the US Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, and other regulatory approvals including in Canada and Israel; until then the companies operate separately, and DoorDash expects to keep Instacart's brand, enterprise technology and app after closing.
- Reuters and the BBC report the same $17 billion deal and $65-per-share value; the BBC notes the merger may raise antitrust issues — no regulator has ruled on the deal in the sources read here.
What happened
DoorDash, founded in 2013, says it has facilitated over 10 billion consumer orders across more than 40 countries and also owns Deliveroo, SevenRooms and Wolt; Instacart is a grocery technology company partnering with more than 2,200 retail banners representing nearly 100,000 stores — both descriptions are from the companies' joint announcement. Reuters places the deal in a wave of delivery-industry consolidation as restaurant delivery matures and companies chase grocery and retail growth, following Uber's deal for Delivery Hero earlier this year and DoorDash's own purchases of Wolt and Deliveroo.
The announcement was made alongside DoorDash's third-quarter 2026 results, which the company said it would report separately the same day; this brief covers the acquisition agreement only, not either company's earnings.
Claim by claim
Why this label: From the companies' own joint announcement, 'DoorDash to Acquire Instacart to Help Local Stores Win' (San Francisco, 29 October 2026, Business Wire distribution), read in full for this brief — the issuing companies' own statement of their agreement. Reuters reports the same deal valued at about $17 billion and the same $65-per-share offer, and the BBC reports the same $17 billion (£12.8 billion) acquisition.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The premium, the three election options, the stock cap and proration, and the 19% voting-support figure are all from the companies' joint announcement, read in full — its 'Transaction details' section. Reuters likewise reports the 26% premium to the 22 October close and the at-least-75%-cash structure.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The closing timetable, the conditions, the funding and bridge-loan commitment, the no-financing-condition point, and the post-close brand/app and separate-operation points are all from the companies' joint announcement, read in full. The BBC likewise reports DoorDash plans to keep Instacart's brand, app and technology products, with the two services operating independently until the deal is concluded, and that the merger may raise antitrust issues — that antitrust concern is reporting and commentary, not a regulator's finding, and no regulator has ruled on the deal in the sources read here.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: The combined-offer description, the 50,000 additional stores and nearly 100,000 current stores figures, the one-membership and estimated $100 million saving, and both chief executives' quoted remarks are from the companies' joint announcement, read in full — reported here as the companies' own stated plans and estimates, not as outcomes that have happened. The BBC reports the same store picture in rounded form (shoppers able to buy from 150,000 stores, up from 100,000 currently). The $100 million is the companies' estimate, labelled as such in the announcement itself.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The definitive agreement, the $65.00-per-share and approximately $17 billion equity value, the at-least-75%-cash structure with the 25% stock cap, the election options, the 26% premium, the board's unanimous approval, the 19% voting support, the closing timetable and conditions, and the funding arrangement — from DoorDash and Instacart's own joint announcement of 29 October 2026, read in full, cross-checked against Reuters and the BBC, which report the same deal and headline figures.
What we don't know yet
- Whether regulators will clear the deal, or on what conditions — the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period and the Canadian and Israeli approvals are still ahead, and no regulator's view is carried in the sources read here; reporting that the merger may raise antitrust issues is not a ruling.
- Whether Instacart stockholders will approve the transaction — holders of about 19% have agreed to vote in favour, per the announcement; the vote itself has not happened.
- Whether an official video of the announcement was available at publication — no official DoorDash or Instacart YouTube video of the announcement was verified via YouTube's oEmbed endpoint in this run, so the brief is published without an embedded video rather than using a third-party upload.
Why it matters
The deal would combine the largest US restaurant-delivery network with the leading US grocery-delivery platform — nearly 100,000 stores on Instacart today, with the companies promising 50,000 more — in a single group, at a $17 billion price that makes it DoorDash's biggest acquisition to date, per the BBC. Whether shoppers, grocers and delivery workers gain or lose depends on approvals and conditions that are more than a year away: nothing changes for customers until the deal closes, which the companies do not expect before the end of 2027.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Story published as a confirmed brief, based on DoorDash and Instacart's own joint announcement of 29 October 2026, read in full in this run, cross-checked against Reuters' and the BBC's same-day reports. The item entered this scan through the BBC feed at 15:05 UTC; the companies' announcement itself was made earlier on Thursday and had not been queued by earlier scans — that timing is stated here honestly.