Swedish last-mile delivery operators Instabox AB and Budbee AB plan to merge to create a new company at a valuation of 18 billion kronor ($1.66 billion).
The new company, Instabee, will be owned by the respective founders of the two startups as well as by Kinnevik AB, an 80-year-old investment firm started by the Stenbeck family. Other backers include Creades AB, EQT Ventures, AMF and Hennes & Mauritz AB.
The founders will “continue to play important roles” in the new venture, with Budbee founder Fredrik Hamilton set to take on the role of its chief executive and Alexis Priftis, Instabox’s founder, set to become of chairman of the board.
Instabox was founded in Stockholm in 2015, and has expanded across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany with a system of lockers controlled by smartphones. Budbee began by focusing on flexible home deliveries, but added box deliveries in 2020. The company operates in five countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium).
“We look forward to continuing to be a leading shareholder in Instabee as its growth journey continues,” Georgi Ganev, Chief Executive of Kinnevik, said.
Source and Image Source: (Bloomberg)