Two Swedish parcel delivery companies, Budbee and Instabox, have announced a fusion combining the two companies under the new holding company Instabee. The two Swedish e-commerce companies merges and the new holding company is valued at 1.7 billion euros.
The two companies, which were both founded out of the Stockholm area in 2015, serve as the delivery and logistics partner for major brands, including multinational clothing retailer H&M, offering delivery services directly to people’s homes as well as automated lockers in strategic locations.
The deal has been approved by the Swedish Competition Authority and this combination creates a new company that aims to take the European market by assault.
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Instabox launched in 2015 and reached unicorn status in April this year. The logistics tech company Budbee was founded a year later and raised 40 million euros to expand its network of parcel lockers in May this year.
Instabox operates in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Germany, while Budbee serves Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium.
Instabee main goal is to combine Budbee and Instabox’s pooled resources, expertise, and know-how to keep transforming last-mile deliveries and challenge traditional players across Europe.
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Though the trajectories each company has taken since their foundations have been a little different, they have arrived in roughly the same place in terms of the types of services they offer and the markets they operate in. On top of that, in what has become an increasingly competitive industry in a turbulent economic landscape, we’ve seen a growing push toward consolidation and purse-string tightening, with the likes of U.S. grocery delivery giant Instacart recently slashing its valuation by almost 40% to around $24 billion, and closer to home Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway is scaling back in some markets and offloading its international ventures in pursuit of “more sustainable, profitable growth.”
“Since the beginning, I have always kept the long term in mind in my plans, and this step is a fantastic opportunity to create something substantial together. I have always followed Instabox and I am impressed with their growth. This combination feels like a perfect match and I look forward to getting to know all my new colleagues. We are going to achieve great things together”, says Fredrik Hamilton, founder of Budbee. He will become Instabee’s CEO.
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Priftis will become Instabee’s Executive Chairman of the Board. “I’m extra happy that we are now working together to further transform ecommerce deliveries with a strong focus on customer experience and sustainability. I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together. I think this is a very good match between two companies that share a lot of values. Mutual respect and admiration for each other has only increased in recent years”, said Alexis Priftis”
The biggest investors are Budbee, Instabox and Kinnevik. They were joined by other European investors with a smaller share.
Two Swedish E-Commerce Companies Merges, written by Tor Kjolberg