Instacart Puts Itself in the Cart, Asks Uber and DoorDash if They'd Like to Add a $12 Billion Item Before Checkout

The business pages on Saturday did not lead with a merger. They led with a grocery delivery company standing in its own doorway, holding a paper bag, asking two strangers whether anybody ordered a grocery delivery company.

The Information reported that Instacart is exploring a sale and has held preliminary talks with DoorDash and Uber. For fourteen years Instacart brought other people's things to the door. Now it has rung the bell on itself, and it is very much hoping somebody tips.

Shares rose about 9 percent on Friday, to $56.44, which is how Wall Street says "we love you" to a company that has just announced it would like to be someone else's problem. The market value sat near $12 billion. A typical takeover premium of 30 to 40 percent would price it at $16 billion to $17 billion. It is the first time Instacart has been the thing with the markup.

Then the plot thickened, the way plots do when a second newsroom calls. Bloomberg reported that Uber had walked away from the discussions, and an Uber official said talks are not currently underway. Being ghosted by a ride-hailing app is a special humiliation. You can watch the little car on the map turn around.

DoorDash has been here before. In 2021 it discussed buying Instacart at a valuation of $40 billion to $50 billion, and the talks died over antitrust worries. Five years later the price is down by roughly two-thirds, making Instacart the only produce in America that got cheaper while sitting out.

Every Instacart customer knows the feeling. You order the $40 billion brand, and the shopper texts a blurry photo of the $12 billion store version asking if that's okay.

The analysts were measured, as analysts are paid to be. "Instacart risks getting squeezed between retailers building their own digital channels and larger platforms that can bundle grocery with other services, giving consumers more reasons to keep coming back," said Emarketer's Zak Stambor. Squeezed is the right verb. Instacart spent a decade watching strangers squeeze avocados on its behalf. Karma, it turns out, has a loyalty program.

Stambor added: "For Instacart, a deal could provide the resources and reach to compete more effectively than it could on its own." That is the exact sentence every 27-year-old uses before moving back in with their parents.

The buyers are not exactly fasting. Uber struck a nearly $15 billion deal for Delivery Hero in July. DoorDash bought Wolt for $8 billion and then Deliveroo. These companies collect delivery apps the way the rest of us collect plastic bags under the sink: compulsively, and with no plan to ever use them.

Regulators may still have a say, since putting two of the biggest food delivery platforms in one bag is the kind of order antitrust lawyers like to inspect for crushed eggs. Meanwhile Amazon promises groceries in 30 minutes or less, which is roughly how long a sale process takes to stop being a rumor.

Instacart declined to comment. Its legal name is Maplebear, which sounds less like a public company and more like a pancake syrup with a lawyer.

So the shopper has picked the shelf clean, scanned itself, and is waiting at the register. Instacart has delivered for fourteen years. Now it just needs someone to leave it at the door.