DoorDash to Purchase Instacart in $17 Billion Deal

DoorDash said Thursday it agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion.

Instacart customers would gain access to more than 50,000 additional stores on top of the nearly 100,000 stores currently on its platform, the companies said. DashPass and Instacart+ members would pay a single membership fee instead of two. DoorDash plans to retain the Instacart brand and its technology. The two companies will continue to operate as separate and independent businesses until the transaction closes.

Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said the company has spent 14 years building its grocery business. "Over the last 14 years, Instacart has transformed online grocery by helping retailers of all sizes compete and grow, and joining forces with DoorDash allows us to do even more," Rogers said.

The transaction follows other recent consolidation in the delivery sector. DoorDash bought the UK-based Deliveroo last year, while Uber owns Postmates and Delivery Hero. Bloomberg data showed DoorDash accounted for about two-thirds of food-delivery volumes in the U.S. As of 2024. Its share price has fallen by roughly a third over the past year, which the source attributed largely to rising costs.

Instacart's activity peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, when consumers ordered groceries by phone. Its stock has moved little over the past two years as the company faced competition from Amazon and Walmart grocery delivery. Fuel costs rose this year, bringing new fees and surcharges that consumers have questioned. Last month, DoorDash paid $131.5 million to New York City regulators to settle charges that it deprived workers of millions of dollars in tips. "Simply put, we screwed up," the company said in a statement. "Our mistakes meant some Dashers were underpaid or paid late. While these mistakes weren't intentional, that doesn't make them okay." The proposed transaction was.

The transaction was first reported by tech website The Information and The Wall Street Journal.