DoorDash in advanced talks to acquire Instacart for about $17 billion

SITUATION DETECTED: DoorDash is in advanced talks to acquire its delivery rival Instacart for roughly $17 billion, per Bloomberg.

that was fast: DoorDash, which in 2021 tried to figure out a merger w/Instacart, is now nearing a deal @ $17b. @validapau

DoorDash is in exclusive talks to acquire Instacart, with Semafor saying the deal could still fall apart. The Wall Street Journal also reported advanced negotiations, and The Information said the price could be around $17 billion.

DoorDash is about to buy Instacart for $17 billion, less than half of what it was worth in 2021. And today's Instacart brings in twice as much money as it did back then. If you sold your house for half its 2021 price after doubling the square footage, your neighbors would think you got ripped off. That's basically the deal on the table right now. Back in 2021, everybody was stuck at home ordering groceries on their phone, and investors valued Instacart at $39 billion. DoorDash had talks about buying it for somewhere between $40 and $50 billion. Those talks fell apart, partly because both companies figured regulators would try to block it. Then life went back to normal and people started driving to the store again. When Instacart finally went public in 2023, it was worth about $10…