DoorDash Agrees to Buy Instacart, Merging Two Delivery Rivals in $17 Billion Deal

DoorDash announced Thursday that it will acquire Instacart for $17 billion, joining the country's leading restaurant delivery platform with one of its biggest grocery delivery services. For customers, the companies said, the most immediate change would be access to more stores and a single membership fee in place of two.

The deal is not expected to close until late 2027 or early 2028, according to CBS News. Business Insider reported the timing as the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028.

The terms of the deal

DoorDash will pay $65 per share for Instacart, CBS News reported. Business Insider said the offer represents a 26% premium over Instacart's closing price on Oct. 22 and that at least 75% of the payment will be in cash.

NBC News reported that DoorDash shares rose more than 9% in pre-market trading Thursday. The Information and The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposed transaction, according to NBC.

Until the sale closes, the two companies will keep operating as separate, independent businesses. DoorDash said it plans to keep Instacart's brand, technology and app after the merger is complete, according to CBS News and NBC News.

Why it matters for shoppers

The companies said Instacart customers will be able to shop at more than 50,000 additional stores. NBC reported that this comes on top of the nearly 100,000 stores already on the Instacart platform. Members of DashPass and Instacart+ would pay one membership fee instead of two, according to NBC and Business Insider.

DoorDash also said shoppers would get speedier delivery options and access to savings when they shop locally, CBS News reported. None of those changes will take effect until the deal closes, since the companies remain separate until then.

Cost is a live concern for delivery customers. NBC reported that Americans who eat at home have increasingly complained about delivery prices, and that soaring fuel costs this year have brought new fees and surcharges. NBC also noted that a merger could create savings by trimming corporate staff and sharing some expenses, but said it is unclear how much more money can be squeezed from delivery customers. The companies have not said how the merger would affect prices. Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said the combination could make online grocery more “seamless and affordable.”

Both companies rely on gig workers to shop for and deliver orders, Business Insider reported. As independent contractors, most do not receive benefits such as health insurance or retirement contributions. The sources do not describe any change to how those workers are treated under the deal.

What the companies say they will gain

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said in a statement that Instacart has spent years learning to serve grocers, while DoorDash has built a delivery network that local stores rely on. He said the combination could give stores of every size more tools. DoorDash said the deal would let more supermarkets use Instacart's platform to run their websites, according to CBS News.

Rogers said that over 14 years Instacart has helped retailers of all sizes compete and grow, and that joining DoorDash would let it do more, NBC reported.

The competitive backdrop

NBC reported that DoorDash commanded about two-thirds of U.S. food delivery volume as of 2024, citing Bloomberg data. Its share price has fallen by roughly a third over the past year, largely because of rising costs. Instacart's stock has gone nowhere over the past two years, NBC said, as the company struggled to find new growth while facing competition from Amazon and Walmart.

Business Insider said the combined company would be a stronger rival to Amazon, which has expanded same-day perishable food delivery to more parts of the U.S. over the past year, and to Uber, which has grown its restaurant and grocery business through Uber Eats.

The deal fits a broader pattern of consolidation, according to NBC. DoorDash bought U.K.-based Deliveroo last year, and Uber now owns Postmates and Delivery Hero.

The shift toward ordering groceries on apps is substantial. CBS News, citing Capital One, reported that nearly 150 million Americans shopped for groceries online as of 2025.

What happens next

The merger must still be completed, and the companies have given a window of late 2027 to the first half of 2028. Until then, DoorDash and Instacart will compete and operate on their own.

Around Prague, based on reporting by NBC News, Business Insider, CBS News