DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, drawing antitrust attention

DoorDash has agreed to buy Instacart in a deal valuing the grocery delivery company at about $17 billion in equity, or $65.00 per Instacart share, according to the companies' announcement and a DoorDash securities filing. The price is a 26% premium to Instacart's October 22 close, the last session before reports of talks surfaced, according to Reuters. At least 75% of the consideration will be paid in cash, with DoorDash stock capped at 25%, and Instacart holders can elect cash, stock or a mix. The merger agreement was signed on October 28, and DoorDash said it plans to keep the Instacart brand and app.

The timeline signals how long regulators are expected to take. The companies expect to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, subject to U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino review and competition approvals in Canada and Israel. The filing commits DoorDash to a $1.25 billion reverse termination fee if antitrust is the only condition left unmet, while Instacart would owe $650 million in specified circumstances. "The main risk is regulatory approval," CFRA Research said in a note cited by Reuters, while also calling the current regulatory backdrop "generally favorable". Reuters framed the deal as the latest in a wave of delivery-industry consolidation. MarketWatch put the open question plainly: whether Washington will get in the way.

The market is pricing that risk. As of 11:33 a.m. ET, CART traded at $57.77, down about 1%, roughly 11% below the $65 offer, a gap that reflects the long wait and the chance of a block. DASH was up about 6% at $180.33, a move Reuters partly attributed to DoorDash's better-than-expected quarterly revenue, reported alongside the deal.

What to watch next: the HSR filing and whether the FTC issues a second request, any divestiture talk, and the Instacart shareholder vote. The deal would unite two delivery giants, which is exactly why the review is expected to be long.