Blue Apron Sells Itself to Wonder Group for $100 Million: The End of a Public Company

The End of an Era: Blue Apron’s Sale to Wonder Group

News that Blue Apron is selling itself to Wonder Group — Marc Lore’s latest — for around $100 million marks the end of the former startup’s life as a public company.

Blue Apron, a popular meal kit business, initially raised $135 million in a Series D funding round back in 2015. However, after going public in mid-2017 with a valuation of just under $1.9 billion, the company’s fortunes took a nosedive.

Wonder Group has agreed to purchase Blue Apron for $13 per share in cash, with an equity value of $103 million. This represents a significant premium to the company’s preceding worth, being 77% more than its “30-day volume weighted average price,” and a staggering 137% increase from its value at the close of trading on Thursday.

Understanding how Blue Apron reached this point is an interesting journey, one that we’ll explore from the company’s IPO to the present.

Rewinding the Clock

When Blue Apron went public, AsumeTech applauded its impressive growth:

The company is showing a rather incredible amount of growth. Blue Apron said it generated nearly $800 million in revenue in 2016, up from $341 million in 2015. For the first quarter this year, Blue Apron said it generated $245 million in revenue, up from $172 million in the first quarter last year.

Despite initially aiming for a $15 to $17 per-share IPO price range, Blue Apron had to adjust its expectations to $10 to $11 per share. During its first day of trading, the company barely maintained that price.

The post Blue Apron Sells Itself to Wonder Group for $100 Million: The End of a Public Company appeared first on asumetech.

from Technology - asumetech https://asumetech.com/blue-apron-sells-itself-to-wonder-group-for-100-million-the-end-of-a-public-company/