Two of San Francisco's best-known app companies are set to become one. DoorDash announced Thursday, Oct. 29, a definitive agreement to acquire Instacart (legally Maplebear Inc.) for $65 per share, an equity value of roughly $17 billion.
According to DoorDash's announcement, the price is a 26% premium over Instacart's closing price on Oct. 22, the last trading day before media reports of a possible deal. At least 75% of the payment will be cash; Instacart shareholders can choose cash, DoorDash stock or a mix, with stock capped at 25% of the total. Instacart's board approved the agreement unanimously, and holders of about 19% of Instacart's shares have agreed to vote for it.
When it would happen
Don't expect your apps to change soon. The companies expect the deal to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, subject to an Instacart shareholder vote and antitrust review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, plus approvals in Canada and Israel. CBS San Francisco reports that the two will operate as separate companies until then, and that DoorDash plans to keep Instacart's brand, technology and app afterward.
Why it matters here
DoorDash was founded in San Francisco in 2013 as a restaurant-delivery business and moved into groceries in 2020; Instacart, founded in 2012, specializes in grocery and convenience-store delivery in the U.S. and Canada. DoorDash says Instacart customers could shop at more than 50,000 additional stores on top of the nearly 100,000 already on Instacart. CBS also notes that the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it has opened a probe into how DoorDash, Instacart and seven other companies set prices.
For Bay Area shoppers, Dashers and Instacart shoppers, the practical takeaway is that nothing changes yet. The combined company says delivery workers would get more earning opportunities, while regulators will spend the next year or more deciding whether the merger can go ahead.