DoorDash will pay $17B cash-heavy for Instacart, and won't close until 2027 or 2028

Terms: $65 a share, 75% cash, a long wait

DoorDash's announcement prices Instacart at $65 per share, a 26% premium to its October 22, 2026 close, the last day before deal reports. Holders can elect cash, 0.3372 DoorDash shares, or $48.75 plus 0.0843 shares, with stock capped at 25% of the total. JPMorgan has committed a 364-day bridge loan, and about 19% of Instacart holders have agreed to vote yes. Closing needs a Hart-Scott-Rodino review plus approvals including Canada and Israel.

The promises are aimed at that review: no grocery exclusivity after closing, Shopper scheduling flexibility, the Instacart brand kept, and a combined DashPass and Instacart+ membership DoorDash estimates will save members about $100 million a year in fees.

The thread argued about the product, not the merger

The top comment proposed turning delivery into a municipal service, and the replies spent a day on it. The more useful voices were users:

"Paying an extra $10-12 in tips and fees to have some courier a meal directly to your door is ridiculously cheap, a courier service would charge 4x as much for a similar courier trip." — a commenter pricing a courier alternative

A skeptic pushed the other way, doubting the personal economics works for 99% of users once fees are counted (a software developer).

What the thread did not do is price the merger risk: with 19% of holders already committed and closing not expected before late 2027, the signal to watch is the Hart-Scott-Rodino outcome, not the premium.