DoorDash in Advanced Talks to Acquire Instacart in Deal That Could Close This Week

DoorDash is in advanced talks to acquire Instacart, parent company Maplebear Inc., with a deal potentially finalized as soon as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on October 26. The discussions are described as exclusive, according to Semafor, and Uber, which had previously held separate talks with Instacart, is no longer in negotiations.

Instacart shares rose roughly 3.3% on the news, trading near $58, as unusual call option volume in CART had already been flagging elevated market interest earlier in the session. Maplebear filed a Form 8-K with regulators on October 26, consistent with the timing of the disclosure. No deal has been finalized, and the parties cautioned that discussions could still fall apart.

The potential combination would bring together two of the largest players in on-demand grocery and food delivery. DoorDash had previously explored acquiring Instacart around 2021, when a deal was valued at a likely $40 billion to $50 billion, but those talks collapsed partly over antitrust concerns. Instacart's market valuation before this round of reports stood at approximately $12 billion, with analysts suggesting a 30-40% takeover premium would imply a deal in the range of $16-17 billion.