The countdown to $17 billion merger and acquisition: DoorDash (DASH.US) plans to acquire Instacart and enter the home shopping battlefield. It was officially announced as early as Thursday 

The Zhitong Finance App learned that some media reported, citing information revealed by people familiar with the matter, that DoorDash (DASH.US)'s plan to acquire Instacart may be announced as early as Thursday morning EST. Speculation about the deal began to heat up last week. At the time, The Information reported that Instacart was exploring sales and was already in touch with companies such as Uber and DoorDash. On Monday, several media outlets reported that DoorDash is in in-depth negotiations to acquire Instacart. This deal could value Instacart by about $17 billion.

In post-market trading of US stocks on Wednesday, Instacart shares rose by about 4%, while DoorDash shares fell less than 1%. Instacart declined to comment. DoorDash representatives did not immediately respond to media requests for comment.

The acquisition of InstaCart will expand DoorDash's business in the online grocery delivery market. DoorDash started with takeout food delivery, then gradually introduced more retailers such as Sephora, Macy's, Staples, and Anthropologie to its platform. Following the announcement of a partnership with Kroger last year, DoorDash has introduced more and more regional grocery retailers in recent months.

Instacart was launched in 2023 and was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the surge in demand for grocery delivery services driven by the pandemic, but it has been difficult to maintain this growth since then. In December, Instacart agreed to pay $60 million to settle with the US Federal Trade Commission to resolve the agency's allegations, including misleading users through false advertising and using “illegal subscription registration” practices.

The service is also facing increasing competition from companies such as Amazon and Walmart. After slowing the expansion of the physical grocery retail business, Amazon increased its investment in the online grocery business and used its huge fulfillment network to speed up the delivery of household necessities, daily stocked foods, and perishable foods.

Both Amazon and Walmart are further expanding same-day and next-day delivery services, threatening Instacart's on-demand delivery model.

Analysts pointed out that given the overlap between the two companies' businesses, the potential merger of InstaCart and DoorDash could trigger antitrust scrutiny.

Wedbush analysts wrote in a research report on Monday that third-party delivery platforms “still account for a small share of total grocery consumption, but if they further segment the online market or examine this deal from the perspective of a grocery retailer as a corporate customer, it may be more difficult to obtain approval.”

$17 billion merger and acquisition in preparation: DoorDash competes for home shopping portal

The core intention of DoorDash to acquire InstaCart can be described as extending the user portal and distribution network established for food and beverage takeout to a larger shopping scene at home supermarkets. The news of the deal began when Instacart explored sales and contacted potential buyers such as Uber and DoorDash; by October 26, several media reported that the two sides had entered into in-depth negotiations, with a potential transaction valuation of about 17 billion US dollars.

DoorDash strives to acquire InstaCart's core strategic logic. It can be described as striving to rely on the user portal and distribution network established by food and beverage takeout, further deepening the layout of the “online shopping, picking and one-click delivery” online shopping scenario in home supermarkets, and expanding retailers' technical services and advertising monetization space.

Shortly thereafter, some media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the acquisition news may have been announced as early as Thursday morning, October 29, US time, but this is still an expectation disclosed by the source, and it does not mean that the deal has been signed or completed.

After the market, Instacart rose by about 4% and DoorDash fell by less than 1%, reflecting that the market began to separately price the acquired party's transaction premium, as well as the acquisition costs and integration responsibilities that buyers may bear. At the same time, the competitive background of the market focus is also very clear: Amazon and Walmart continue to strengthen same-day delivery and next-day delivery, compete for consumers' daily food and household goods procurement needs, and push independent distribution platforms to seek greater business scale and service depth.

One connects local consumption, and the other goes deep into supermarket management: buying more than just delivering orders

DoorDash's main business is a local commercial platform and instant delivery: consumers buy restaurants, groceries and other retail products through the platform, and the company connects merchants and distributors, and monetizes through business such as merchant commissions, consumer service fees, DashPass membership and advertising, while providing merchants with their own channel ordering, delivery and management tools.

Instacart, on the other hand, goes deeper into the grocery retail system. Its business includes an Instacart Marketplace (Instacart Marketplace) for consumers, an enterprise platform (Instacart Enterprise) to help retailers operate online stores and fulfill contracts, and Instacart Ads (Instacart Ads) for consumer brands and retailers.

Supermarket orders involve a large number of products, out of stock replacement, fresh food selection, and matching of different specifications, and the operating requirements are different from food and beverage delivery; therefore, DoorDash's focus on existing InstaCart consumer and retailer partnerships also includes product data, picking and fulfillment experience, and retail technology. Ads are particularly noteworthy: Instacart revealed that advertising and other revenue in 2025 surpassed $1 billion, meaning that potential acquirers already have important monetization channels other than delivery services.

If the deal is completed, DoorDash is expected to simultaneously expand consumption scenarios, deepen merchant services, and enhance retail advertising capabilities. Catering users can be directed to supermarket shopping, and Instacart's home purchasing users may also increase other local spending; if member benefits, customer acquisition investment, and contract fulfillment resources can effectively collaborate, the platform has the opportunity to increase users' consumption share, reduce repeat customer acquisition costs, and allow more transactions to generate additional revenue through advertising and merchant tools. However, these are potential collaborations after mergers and acquisitions, and adding up orders cannot be directly equated to increased profits for the time being.

Approval also affects transaction value: According to Wedbush's analysis, even if third-party delivery still accounts for a small proportion of overall grocery consumption, if regulation focuses on a narrower online delivery market, or evaluates from the perspective of retailers choosing technology and fulfillment service providers, it is possible to find high concentration problems; the main line that is really worth the transaction is whether DoorDash can turn a wider consumer portal into continuous profit, rather than simply becoming a larger delivery platform.