Instabox and Budbee join forces – combine expertise to keep transforming last-mile deliveries

The two Swedish-founded last mile delivery companies, Instabox and Budbee, announce their intention to join forces under a new holding company, Instabee. The combination, subject to customary regulatory approval from the Swedish Competition Authority, would create a new Group with the power to further invest in, and push the boundaries of, consumer-centric and sustainable last-mile delivery services for the e-commerce sector.

Instabox was founded in Stockholm in 2015, and its deliveries to smart automated parcel lockers quickly became a preferred option for many Swedes. Instabox added home deliveries to its offering in 2021 and today operates in five countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany). Budbee was founded in 2016 with an initial focus on making home deliveries smarter, faster, and more convenient for consumers. Budbee added boxes in 2020 and today operates in five countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium). The two companies have, up until today, been led by their respective founders who will continue to play active roles. In the new company Budbee’s founder, Fredrik Hamilton, will assume the position as CEO and Instabox’s founder, Alexis Priftis, will become Executive Chairman of the Board.

“I have been long-term in my plans since the start, and this move is an amazing opportunity to create something truly substantial. I have of course followed Instabox closely during the years, and I’m impressed by their journey. This feels like a perfect match, and I look forward to getting to know all my new colleagues. We will achieve great things together”, says Fredrik Hamilton.

“I think that this is a great fit between two companies that share a lot of common values. Mutual respect and admiration has grown for a long time, and I’m happy that we are now getting behind the joint goal to transform the world of e-commerce shipping with our obsession with the customer experience and sustainability close to heart. I’m thrilled to see what we can achieve together”, says Alexis Priftis.”

Both Instabox and Budbee have successfully challenged traditional players in the market and pioneered the industry regarding customer centricity and sustainability. The business logic behind this combination relies heavily on pooling and building on the two companies’ combined expertise and know-how. Instabee will be able to challenge traditional state-owned players and well-funded on-demand delivery companies entering the e-commerce sector. Furthermore, leveraging potential synergies in operations and sharing technology solutions will lead to substantial savings in terms of carbon footprint.

The new combined company is valued at 18 billion SEK, and the founders will, together with Kinnevik, be the largest investors, a list that also contains Creades, EQT, Verdane, AMF, Stena Sessan, H&M, CNI Nordic, and Tham Invest, among others.

“This move creates a consolidated pool of the best talent and operational flows in the industry. It is a natural step in order to leverage the potential of both organizations and focus on the merchant and end consumer. The merger ensures continued focus on growth, expansion, and investments in innovation that transforms e-commerce shipping. The merger also positions Instabee to continue challenging both traditional state-owned players as well as well-funded delivery companies entering the e-commerce sector”, says Christian Jebsen, Partner at Verdane.

“Over the last years, Instabox and Budbee have both revolutionized their respective fields of the last-mile delivery space. As a major shareholder in Instabox we are very impressed with the historic achievements by Alexis and the Instabox team, and this next step of combining two Swedish entrepreneurial success stories makes for an
even more exciting future. A future we are very much looking forward to being part of”, says John Hedberg, Creades CEO and Instabox Chairman.