DoorDash to Scoop Up Instacart in $17B Deal

DoorDash just made a big move to dominate our delivery apps. The company said on Thursday it will acquire rival Instacart for about $17 billion, reports the AP. That works out to $65 a share—about 11% higher than Instacart's Wednesday close, and roughly 26% above where the stock sat before sale rumors surfaced last week, per the Wall Street Journal.

Instacart, which trades under the name Maplebear and went public in 2023, was worth around $13 billion before reports of serious talks with DoorDash emerged. DoorDash, valued near $73 billion, expects the transaction to wrap up in late 2027 or the beginning of 2028. Instacart shares were up about 4.8% in premarket trading after DoorDash unexpectedly moved up its earnings release, a shift that signaled a major announcement was imminent. One caveat to the announcement: Some analysts are warning that the proposed merger "could attract antitrust scrutiny given the companies' market overlap," notes CNBC.