DoorDash will acquire Instacart in a transaction valued at $17 billion, the company announced. The deal would join the two largest grocery delivery platforms in the United States. It still faces potential antitrust scrutiny before it can close.
DoorDash built its business on restaurant and takeout orders, but it also offers shopping services that include grocery delivery. Adding Instacart's network could strengthen those offerings. The Instacart purchase is not DoorDash's only recent expansion; earlier this year, DoorDash began testing a drone delivery program.
Word that Instacart was weighing a sale had circulated before the announcement. The Information and The Wall Street Journal were among outlets reporting that Instacart was exploring its options. Uber was also reportedly viewed at one point as a possible buyer alongside DoorDash.
This is not DoorDash's first attempt to buy Instacart. The two companies held talks in 2021 that would have valued Instacart higher, but those negotiations reportedly fell apart over price and concerns about possible antitrust regulation.
The deal, if completed, would reshape the U.S. grocery delivery market by combining its two biggest players. Both companies serve consumers across the country, and the merger would concentrate their grocery operations under one owner. How regulators view that concentration is likely to shape whether the acquisition proceeds.
DoorDash has been widening its reach beyond restaurant delivery, and the Instacart deal would extend that effort into grocery on a larger scale. Its drone delivery testing reflects the same push into new forms of delivery. The acquisition would mark the company's most significant move yet into the grocery segment.
Instacart's reported exploration of a sale drew interest from more than one suitor, according to the earlier reporting. DoorDash ultimately reached the agreement announced today. The $17 billion figure places the transaction among the larger recent deals in the delivery sector.
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