DoorDash Strikes a $17 Billion Deal to Buy Instacart at $65 a Share, With Closing Not Expected Until Late 2027 or Early 2028
Fox Business, citing Reuters, says the offer is a 26% premium to Instacart's October 22 close. It follows the talks reported earlier this month. Instacart is also winding down its Caper Cart business.
The talks are over and a deal is signed. DoorDash said Thursday it will buy Instacart for about $17 billion, Fox Business reports, citing Reuters.
The terms. DoorDash is offering Instacart shareholders $65 a share, about a 26% premium to the stock's October 22 close, before reports of talks first emerged. The deal is expected to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028.
The reasoning. DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu said, "Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online," adding that Instacart has spent years learning to do it well for grocers. Fox says delivery companies are looking to grocery and retail for growth as restaurant delivery matures, and that budget-conscious shoppers are leaning on online ordering while gas prices sit at highs linked to the war in Iran.
The wave of deals. The piece lists other recent moves in the industry: Just Eat Takeaway buying Grubhub for $7.3 billion, DoorDash's 2025 purchases of Wolt and the U.K.'s Deliveroo, Uber's $15 billion deal for Delivery Hero earlier this year, and Uber's Postmates purchase in 2020. Fox points to slower orders since the pandemic peak, rising costs and tough regulatory scrutiny of how gig workers are treated as pressures behind the deals.
A side note. In a filing Monday, Instacart said it will wind down its Caper Cart smart shopping-cart business by the end of the second quarter of 2027, with pre-tax charges of $55 million to $80 million.
Note for readers: the deal has not closed, and the Fox Business report does not say what regulatory review it will face. Our earlier story on the advanced talks, reported by the Wall Street Journal, is on the site.