The two Swedish parcel delivery companies, Instabox and Budbee, announce their intention to merge under a new holding company; Instagram. The combination, subject to the Swedish Competition Authority, creates a new company with greater clout to invest in consumer-centric and sustainable last-mile e-commerce delivery services.
Founded in Stockholm in 2015, Instabox has developed a delivery service that has become one of the most used delivery options for the Swedish population with its smart automated parcel lockers. Instabox added home delivery to its services in 2021 and is active in five countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany).
“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 path. 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.”
Budbee was founded in 2016 to make parcel delivery smarter, faster and easier for consumers. Budbee successfully added parcel lockers in 2020 and is active in five countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium). The two companies have been led by their founders since the beginning. Both founders will play an active role in the new combination. In the new company, Fredrik Hamilton, Budbee's founder, will assume the role of CEO and Instabox's founder, Alexis Priftis, will become Executive Chairman of the Board.
“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. That's why I'm extra happy that we are now working together to further transform e-commerce delivery with a strong focus on customer experience and sustainability. I can't wait to see what we're going to achieve together."
Both Instabox and Budbee have successfully challenged the traditional players in the market and are pioneers in e-commerce with their customer-centric and sustainable approach. The logic behind this combination is mainly based on bundling expertise and knowledge. Instabee is able to challenge the traditional players in the market and high net worth on-demand e-commerce delivery parties. Furthermore, exploiting potential synergies in the operation and bundling technological solutions leads to substantial CO2 savings.
“We are happy to support the combination of Instabox and Budbee. From the outset, we have been impressed with Fredrik Hamilton's and Budbee's strong and consistent execution of their growth strategy. With this combination, we expect Instabee to further develop its proposition, building on the expertise and knowledge of both companies. We look forward to remaining the primary shareholder of Instabee as growth continues.”
The new company is valued at approximately EUR 1,7 billion and the founders, together with Kinnevik, will be the largest investors. Other investors include Creades, EQT, Verdane, AMF, Stena Sessan, H&M, CNI Nordic and Thom Invest. budbee.
“Over the past few years, Instabox and Budbee have revolutionized their own domain in last-mile delivery. As one of the largest shareholders in Instabox, we are impressed with the historic results Alexis and his team have achieved. This next step in bringing two Swedish success stories together opens up space for an even brighter future. A future we look forward to being a part of.”
