The full reportThe full report

Summary

On Thursday, October 29, 2026, DoorDash, the food delivery company, agreed to buy Instacart, a grocery delivery company, for about $17 billion. The deal still needs a vote of Instacart's shareholders and a review by U.S. antitrust regulators, plus approvals in Canada and Israel, and the companies expect it to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028. The companies say customers would get more stores to choose from and members would save about $100 million a year in fees. An anti-monopoly advocacy group and New York City's mayor oppose it, and the group has asked the Federal Trade Commission to block it. We found no public statement on the deal from the FTC or the Justice Department.

What happened

DoorDash and Maplebear Inc., the registered company name of Instacart, announced a definitive agreement under which DoorDash will pay $65 for each Instacart share, an equity value of about $17 billion. At least 75% of the price will be cash; Instacart shareholders can choose cash, DoorDash stock or a mix, with stock capped at 25% of the total. The price is a 26% premium over Instacart's closing price on October 22, 2026, the last trading day before media reports of a possible deal. Instacart's board approved the agreement unanimously. DoorDash expects to pay the cash portion with cash on hand and borrowing, backed by a JPMorgan Chase bridge loan commitment (DoorDash).

DoorDash says it expects to keep Instacart's brand, app and technology products after closing, and that the two will operate as separate companies until then (DoorDash). It is DoorDash's biggest acquisition to date (BBC News). Under a regulatory filing, Instacart would owe DoorDash a $650 million fee, and DoorDash would owe $1.25 billion, if the deal ends under certain circumstances (Reuters, via AOL).

For scale: DoorDash, founded in 2013, operates in 40 countries and completed more than 3 billion orders last year with about 9 million independent delivery workers; Instacart, founded in 2012, delivers in the U.S. and Canada, and its 600,000 "shoppers," who are independent contractors, completed 338 million orders last year (AP, via ABC7 New York). Instacart works with more than 2,200 retail chains covering nearly 100,000 stores (DoorDash).

How a merger review works

Reporting the deal. Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, companies planning a large deal must tell the FTC and the Justice Department before they close it. Generally, the deal must be above a minimum value and the companies above a minimum size. Once the filing is complete, the companies must wait 30 days. Staff at the two agencies consult and the deal is "cleared" to one agency or the other for review (FTC).

A closer look. If the reviewing agency wants to know more, it issues a "Second Request" for more information. That extends the wait: the companies cannot close until they have "substantially complied" with the request and a second waiting period, generally another 30 days, has passed (FTC).

The legal test. Section 7 of the Clayton Act prohibits mergers when the effect "may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly" (FTC).

What the agency can do. It can close its investigation and let the deal go ahead; negotiate a consent agreement with the companies that includes provisions meant to restore competition; or ask a federal court for a preliminary injunction to stop the deal. If none of these leads to a court order blocking the merger, the companies can close at the end of the waiting period. Sometimes companies drop a deal once they learn the agency is likely to challenge it (FTC). State attorneys general can also bring federal antitrust suits on behalf of people in their states, and can enforce their own states' antitrust laws (FTC).

Other countries. This deal also needs clearance under Canada's Competition Act and Israel's Economic Competition Law (DoorDash).

How big is the combined company? The answer depends on what is counted, and the estimates in today's coverage measure different things: - Instacart's share of U.S. third-party grocery delivery: an estimated 58%, and DoorDash's share of U.S. restaurant delivery: two-thirds, according to the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP). - The combined company's share of third-party online grocery marketplaces: an estimated 88%, accounting for about 23% of all U.S. online grocery sales, according to the research firm Bernstein (New York Post). - Shares of all U.S. online grocery sales in 2025: Walmart nearly 32% and Amazon about 23%, according to eMarketer (New York Post). - Shares of spending on U.S. delivery platforms: DoorDash 59%, Uber Eats just under 20% and Instacart 18%, according to the market research company Consumer Edge (AP, via ABC7 New York).

How we got here

• 2012 and 2013: Instacart is founded in 2012 and DoorDash in 2013 (AP, via ABC7 New York).
• 2021: DoorDash bids for Instacart at a much higher valuation than today's; the talks collapse over price and worries about antitrust pushback (Semafor). The New York Post, citing The Information, reports that deal would have valued Instacart at more than $40 billion (New York Post).
• 2023: Instacart goes public (CNN).
• Summer 2026: DoorDash and Instacart begin talks, and in early September Instacart's CEO signals to DoorDash's CEO that Instacart is exploring its options, according to a source cited by Reuters. Instacart also holds early talks with Uber, which does not pursue a deal, in part because it had announced a $14.8 billion purchase of the German delivery company Delivery Hero a few months earlier, the source said (Reuters, via AOL).
• September 22, 2026: New York City announces a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash over what the city said were violations of its delivery-worker pay laws, covering more than 260,000 workers (NYC Mayor's Office). DoorDash confirmed that about $6.6 million in payments never reached its drivers and that there were more than $5.7 million in late payments (Al Jazeera).
• October 22, 2026: The last trading day before media reports of a possible deal; the $65 price is measured against Instacart's close that day (DoorDash).
• October 26, 2026: Semafor reports that DoorDash is in exclusive talks to buy Instacart (Semafor).
• October 28, 2026: The FTC orders nine companies, including DoorDash and Instacart, to explain how they set consumer prices and, for some, gig workers' pay. It is a study under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, not a finding that any company broke the law, and it is separate from the merger (Newsweek). The same day, New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says a potential merger would continue a "troubling trend" of corporate consolidation (Reuters, via AOL).
• October 29, 2026: DoorDash and Instacart announce the agreement (DoorDash). The American Economic Liberties Project calls on the FTC to block it (AELP), and Mayor Mamdani criticizes it in a social media post (Common Dreams).

What people involved say

The companies. DoorDash says the deal would give grocers and retailers "of every size" DoorDash's delivery network together with Instacart's grocery and fulfillment technology, in both apps and on stores' own websites. It says big online retailers are building their own delivery fleets, warehouses and membership programs, and that "A grocer or retailer running on thin margins cannot build all of that alone." Its listed benefits: Instacart customers could shop at more than 50,000 additional stores; DashPass and Instacart+ members would pay one fee instead of two, saving "an estimated $100 million per year on membership fees alone"; and delivery workers would have more ways to earn. It also commits to "Open Platform, No Grocery Exclusivity," so local grocers can work with any delivery company, and says Instacart's shoppers can choose whether to take DoorDash orders (DoorDash). "Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online," said Tony Xu, DoorDash's co-founder and CEO. "It's still early innings, but we know that when more people shop local, more dollars stay local." Chris Rogers, Instacart's CEO, said that together they "can accelerate innovation across the grocery industry and make online grocery more seamless and affordable for the millions of households we serve" (DoorDash). On pricing, Instacart has described its past price tests as "limited, short-term, and randomized" (Newsweek).

The critics. The American Economic Liberties Project, which CNN describes as an anti-monopoly advocacy group (CNN), asked the FTC to block the deal. "This is a brazen merger given the amount of heat on both companies for ongoing harms to restaurants, grocers, delivery drivers and consumers," said Lee Hepner, its senior legal counsel. "Instacart and Doordash have spent the better part of a decade bullying main street businesses and denying fair pay and benefits to their combined 9 million workers." He added: "There's no useful mitigation short of blocking this outright, which the FTC or any State Attorney General must now do." The group points to the companies' commissions, a lawsuit by Uber against DoorDash, and scrutiny of both companies' pricing (AELP). Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of the Groundwork Collaborative, one of the groups that tested Instacart's prices with Consumer Reports and More Perfect Union (Newsweek), said: "Two of the biggest ripoff machines in America should not be allowed to become one. The FTC must block this merger" (Common Dreams).

Officials. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote that "just last month, DoorDash couldn't seem to find the money to pay their deliveristas—until our administration forced them to give back $131M+ in stolen wages and penalties," and that "This week, they've managed to find $17 billion to acquire one of their main competitors. Corporate consolidation means higher prices, harsher exploitation, and greater economic inequality for New Yorkers" (Common Dreams). The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection said: "This proposed merger continues a troubling trend of mega-corporations consolidating," and "Whether or not this merger proceeds, we will fully enforce delivery workers' rights" (BBC News). We found no public statement on the deal from the FTC, the Justice Department or a state attorney general as of October 29, 2026.

What happens next

DoorDash will file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that includes the proxy statement Instacart's shareholders will vote on. Shareholders holding about 19% of Instacart's shares have agreed to vote for the deal. It also needs the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period to end and approvals including in Canada and Israel; the companies expect to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028 (DoorDash).

Analysts differ on the review. CFRA Research said "The main risk is regulatory approval," that the long timeline suggests both sides expect an extended antitrust review, and that "The current regulatory backdrop is generally favorable, but the long closing window leaves the deal exposed to changes in policy" (Reuters, via AOL). Analysts at Wedbush Securities said they expect U.S. regulators to approve it, but that some grocery chains that work with both companies might oppose it, which could prompt pushback from state attorneys general (New York Post).

How it was covered

12 of the 15 outlets on our panel covered it: 3 of 5 on the left, 5 of 5 in the center and 4 of 5 on the right (checked October 29, 2026). The Reel showed one headline, from BBC News (center): "DoorDash to buy Instacart in $17bn deal it says will expand customer options." On the left, CNN's headline was "DoorDash is buying Instacart for $17 billion"; on the right, the New York Post's was "DoorDash buys Instacart for $17B in massive food delivery merger." We did not find coverage from HuffPost, MS NOW or the Washington Examiner. Every outlet's headline, link and date is on the [story page](/stories/2026-10-29-doordash-instacart-deal/#coverage). [How we rate outlets and count coverage](/method/).

Sources

The [story page](/stories/2026-10-29-doordash-instacart-deal/#sources) lists the main sources; every other source is linked in the text above.

Corrections

None as of October 29, 2026. See the [corrections log](/stories/2026-10-29-doordash-instacart-deal/#corrections).