DoorDash Acquires Instacart in $17 Billion Cash-and-Stock Deal

Major consolidation in the food delivery sector accelerated Thursday as DoorDash announced it will acquire Instacart for approximately $17 billion. The transaction, structured with both cash and stock, ends Instacart’s status as an independent public company after its 2023 initial public offering.

DoorDash shareholders will receive $65 per share in the deal. This price represents a premium of roughly 25% above Instacart’s closing price on October 22, the day media reports first indicated the company was exploring a sale. The combined entity is expected to finalize the acquisition within the next few months.

Tony Xu, cofounder and CEO of DoorDash, described grocery delivery as a complex logistical challenge. He noted that successful online grocery shopping requires picking ripe produce and delivering items like ice cream before they melt. Xu stated that Instacart has spent years refining that process for grocers, while DoorDash has built a delivery network used daily by local stores. He said the merger will provide retailers of all sizes with more tools to handle these demands.

The combined company aims to leverage Instacart’s grocery fulfillment technology alongside DoorDash’s existing delivery infrastructure. A press release stated the new entity will offer these services to grocers and retailers of every size. DoorDash has recently expanded beyond food delivery by adding restaurant reservations and partnering with retailers like Home Depot and Sephora. This acquisition adds grocery options to that growing suite of services.

Consumer savings are a key part of the pitch. The companies estimate that eliminating the need for separate DashPass and Instacart+ subscriptions will save customers approximately $100 million annually in membership fees. The merger positions the new company to compete more directly with Amazon, which operates same-day grocery services at 2,300 locations, and Walmart, which offers 30-minute delivery in select areas. Uber has also entered the space by partnering with Costco.

Opposition to the deal has already emerged. Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, urged regulators to block the merger. Hepner argued that the combined firm would control nearly 60% of the third-party grocery delivery market. He criticized the companies for denying fair pay and benefits to their combined nine million workers and called the merger a new frontier of data-driven abuse.

This acquisition follows a pattern of consolidation in the delivery industry. Uber purchased Postmates for $2.65 billion in 2020. More recently, Uber acquired European firm Delivery Hero for $14.8 billion this summer, and Wonder bought Grubhub’s US business for $650 million in 2025.