Analysis
Instacart held talks to sell itself to DoorDash, and separately explored a deal with Uber before Uber reportedly walked away, according to TechCrunch, citing reports from The Information and Bloomberg. The Information reported Instacart hired an investment bank to evaluate its options and held talks with DoorDash; Bloomberg separately reported the Uber discussions.
Pulse previously covered the initial report that sent Instacart shares up 10% on the sale-talks news. What's changed: the specific suitors are now named, and Uber is reportedly out of the running while DoorDash talks continue. Instacart shares rose more than 9.2% on the Friday report, while DoorDash and Uber shares both declined — investors read a deal as more dilutive to the acquirers than to Instacart itself.
“Pulse previously covered the initial report that sent Instacart shares up 10% on the sale-talks news.”
Instacart currently carries a market cap above $13 billion and its stock is up roughly 25% year to date, giving it leverage in any negotiation. A DoorDash-Instacart combination would merge two of the largest US food and grocery delivery platforms, competing against Uber Eats, Amazon Fresh, and Walmart's own delivery push.
But Bloomberg itself described the Uber talks as early discussions that might not lead anywhere, and an Instacart spokesperson declined to comment — no price, exchange ratio, or deal structure has surfaced from either side. Until a filing or an official statement lands, this remains a reported possibility rather than a confirmed process, and the risk for DoorDash is overpaying for a company whose stock has already run up 25% on takeover speculation alone.