Budbee Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Budbee was acquired by Instabox for $1.7B in September 2022, a 19.8x multiple on $86M of revenue.

Budbee acquisition price

$1.7B

Acquired by Instabox · Sep 2022

Budbee revenue at acquisition

$86M

Last twelve months · Sep 2022

Budbee revenue multiple at acquisition

19.8x

EV/Revenue · Sep 2022

Cumulative funding Budbee raised

$154M

across 8 funding rounds

Budbee Overview

About Budbee

Budbee is a Stockholm-based last-mile delivery service optimizing urban logistics for e-commerce. Provides real-time tracking, in-app chat with drivers, and queue-free parcel collection at automated lockers or relay points. Operates in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Poland with a fleet of electric cargo bikes and vans. Partners with retailers like IKEA, Zalando, and CDON for same-day and next-day deliveries.


Founded

2013

HQ

SwedenStockholm

Website

budbee.com

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Services, Commission

Revenue

$92M (May 2022)

Valuation

$805M (May 2022)

Budbee Acquisition

Budbee was acquired by Instabox for $1.7B on 19 September 2022.

The acquisition price implies a 19.8x revenue multiple on $86M of revenue.

Before the acquisition Budbee had raised $154M across 8 funding rounds.

Instabox and Budbee, both Swedish last-mile delivery companies founded in 2015, announced a merger on September 19, 2022, to form Instabee, valued at SEK 18 billion ($1.7 billion USD). The deal, subject to Swedish Competition Authority approval and completed by October 31, 2022, combines their operations serving major e-commerce clients like H&M with home delivery and automated locker services focused on sustainability and customer experience. Budbee co-founder Fredrik Hamilton became CEO of Instabee, while Instabox co-founder Alexis Priftis took the role of executive chairman. The merger creates operational synergies by pooling resources, technology, and expertise to challenge state-owned competitors and on-demand delivery firms, reducing carbon footprint and enhancing efficiency in e-commerce shipping. Instabee's largest shareholders include the founders, Kinnevik, Creades, EQT Ventures, Verdane, AMF, H&M, and others. Prior to the merger, Instabox was valued at $1 billion after raising $336 million total, and Budbee at $700 million. This consolidation reflects industry trends toward sustainability and scale amid competition, with Kinnevik noting Budbee's 10x revenue growth since their 2018 investment.

Budbee acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePriceEV/Revenue
19 Sep 2022Strategic M&A$1.7B19.8x

Budbee Valuation

Budbee is currently valued at $805M, based on its undisclosed-stage round in May 2022.

The $40M round included H&M Group Ventures, CNI Nordic 5 and Kinnevik.

Budbee's valuation has grown 20x from $40M at its Series A in April 2018 to $805M in May 2022, across 4 priced rounds.

Budbee valuation by funding round

Revenue multiple
Budbee valuation by funding round
DateStageValuationRevenue Multiple
May 2022Undisclosed stage$805M8.8x
Jun 2020Series B$767M-
Apr 2019Series A$99M24.8x
Apr 2018Series A$40M-

Budbee Revenue

Budbee's latest recorded revenue is $92M, as of its undisclosed-stage round in May 2022. At a $805M valuation, that implies a 8.8x revenue multiple.

Revenue grew from $4M in April 2019 to $92M in May 2022, while the revenue multiple moved from 24.8x to 8.8x.

Budbee revenue by funding round

Budbee revenue and valuation multiple by funding round
DateRevenue *ValuationRevenue MultipleStage
May 2022$92M$805M8.8xUndisclosed stage
Apr 2019$4M$99M24.8xSeries A

* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.

Budbee Funding History

Budbee has raised a total of $154M across 8 funding rounds.

Budbee's first fundraising round was a $1M seed round in January 2013. The most recent completed round was a $40M undisclosed-stage round in May 2022.

Budbee funding rounds

Budbee funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
May 2022Undisclosed stageH&M Group Ventures; CNI Nordic 5; Kinnevik$40M$805MBudbee is a Swedish last-mile delivery scale-up specializing in fossil-free same- and next-day parcel deliveries and locker networks across Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands, serving e-commerce companies like ASOS, Zalando, Inditex, and H&M, reaching 35 million consumers with 7 million unique users in 2021. On May 23, 2022, Budbee closed a 400 million SEK (€40 million) investment round from existing investors including CNI Nordic 5, H&M Group Ventures, Kinnevik, and employees, at a post-money valuation of over 7.3 billion SEK (approximately €700 million), which was quickly oversubscribed with low dilution. The funds, supplemented by increased bank loans, were primarily allocated to expand its parcel locker network beyond the existing 5,000 units in Europe and support further growth. For 2021, Budbee reported turnover/revenue of €80 million, doubling from the previous year, amid a Covid-driven e-commerce boom, with the company continuing to grow and gain market share in 2022 despite softening Nordic e-commerce sales. Budbee was nearing group-level profitability and aimed to achieve it by the end of 2023, emphasizing a profitability-focused business model in a correcting market with shifting VC risk appetite. The round also introduced an employee investment program. This funding preceded Budbee's September 2022 merger with Instabox to form Instabee, valued at $1.7 billion combined, with Budbee's prior €700 million valuation contributing to the total; post-merger, Fredrik Hamilton became CEO. The company positioned itself as a leading European e-commerce delivery platform prioritizing customer experience.
Jan 2021Series CAMF (lead); H&M Group Ventures; CNI Nordic 5; Kinnevik; Stena Sessan$63M-Budbee is a last-mile delivery scale-up operating in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands, offering fossil-free same- and next-day delivery, parcel lockers, and real-time tracking, partnering with retailers like H&M and Asos. On January 14, 2021, Budbee raised approximately €52M ($63M) in a Series C round led by AMF (investing €24M), with participation from CNI Nordic 5, H&M Group Ventures, Kinnevik, and Stena Sessan, bringing total funding to around €92M. The company achieved over 6 million clients and reached more than 30 million people across Europe by end-2021, with a 1-5% market share in Sweden. In 2021, Budbee reported 80 million euros in turnover, doubling from the prior year, marking its first year of positive operating results across all markets, attributed partly to pandemic-driven e-commerce growth and increased parcel volumes including returns.
Jun 2020Series BKinnevik (lead); H&M Group Ventures; CNI Nordic 5$30M$767MBudbee is a Stockholm-based last-mile delivery provider for e-commerce, founded in 2012 by CEO Fredrik Hamilton. In June 2020, it raised SEK 400 million (about $53.2M USD) in an equity round from existing investors Kinnevik (SEK 105 million), CNI Nordic 5, and H&M Group Ventures, with the deal at a company valuation of SEK 7.3 billion ($730M). At the time, Budbee delivered over a million parcels monthly, with December 2020 volumes up over 200% year-over-year from 2019. The funding aimed to fuel international expansion and product innovation, building on prior raises totaling about $115 million. Kinnevik, an early 2018 investor, held a significant stake, later reported at 37% with fair value SEK 7.7 billion post-2021 round.
Apr 2019Series AH&M Group Ventures; Kinnevik$5M$99MBudbee is a Stockholm-based last-mile logistics provider specialized for e-commerce, operating in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland as of 2019. Founded in 2012 by CEO Fredrik Hamilton, the company delivers parcels to over 6.5 million people and had established a leading position in home delivery in Sweden. On April 3, 2019, Budbee raised SEK 50M ($5.4M or €4.8M) from existing investors H&M Group and Kinnevik, with Kinnevik contributing SEK 45.5M and owning about 24% post-round. The round valued the company at SEK 940M ($101M or nearly €100M), supporting expansion into the Netherlands. Kinnevik's Q1 2019 interim report confirmed the SEK 938M equity value, with their 24% stake at SEK 224M. In 2017, Budbee reported turnover of SEK 34M ($3.7M) alongside a SEK 17M loss, reflecting early-stage growth. The company had previously raised nearly $15M from investors including H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson and others, and in 2018 secured $9.3M from Kinnevik at around $40M valuation.
Apr 2018Series AKinnevik (lead)$10M$40MBudbee, a Stockholm-based last-mile logistics service for e-commerce, raised $9.3M from Kinnevik in 2018 at a roughly $40M valuation. Following the investment, Kinnevik owned about 24% of the company. The company operates in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Copenhagen, and Helsinki.
Jan 2017SeedPaul Fishbein (lead); Karl-Johan Persson; Sebastian Siemiatkowski$3M--
Mar 2016AngelDavid Frykman; Daniel Pilotti; Hampus Jakobsson; Victor Jacobsson; Sebastian Siemiatkowski; Philian Invest$1M--
Jan 2013SeedFlat Capital$1M--

Who has invested in Budbee?

14 investors have backed Budbee across its funding rounds, including Kinnevik, H&M Group Ventures, CNI Nordic 5, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, AMF and Flat Capital.

Lead investors include AMF, Kinnevik and Paul Fishbein.


Budbee Investors

Investors in Budbee by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
KinnevikSwedenStockholm5LeadApr 2018
H&M Group VenturesSwedenStockholm4ParticipantApr 2019
CNI Nordic 5SwedenSweden3ParticipantJun 2020
Sebastian SiemiatkowskiSwedenStockholm2ParticipantMar 2016
David FrykmanSwedenSweden1ParticipantMar 2016
Daniel PilottiSwedenSweden1ParticipantMar 2016
Karl-Johan PerssonSwedenStockholm1ParticipantJan 2017
Paul FishbeinUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1LeadJan 2017
Hampus JakobssonSwedenSweden1ParticipantMar 2016
AMFSwedenStockholm1LeadJan 2021
Victor JacobssonSwedenStockholm1ParticipantMar 2016
Flat CapitalSwedenStockholm1ParticipantJan 2013

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Acquisitions by Budbee

Budbee has acquired 1 company to date.

Last acquisition by Budbee was on September 19th 2022. Budbee acquired Instabox for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by Budbee

Instabox
Description
Instabox is a Gothenburg-based logistics provider offering same-day parcel delivery via 4,000 smart lockers in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. It handles e-commerce shipments for H&M, IKEA, and Lloyds Apotek, reaching six million consumers. Founded in 2015, Instabox has tripled growth annually, emphasizing automated out-of-hours access and reduced carbon emissions.
HQ CountrySweden
HQ City
Stockholm
Deal Date19 Sep 2022
Valuationundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Budbee Competitors

Budbee competitors include listed companies like TBO.com and HBX Group, and private ones like Choco, AppDirect, Olist and Ankorstore.

Public and private companies comparable to Budbee
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
ChocoGermanyBerlinPrivate--$1.2B-
AppDirectUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate$18M-$1.5B-
OlistBrazilCuritibaPrivate--$1.5B-
AnkorstoreFranceFrancePrivate--$2B-
TBO.comIndiaIndiaPublicly listed$262M$41M$1.8B5.2x
HBX GroupSpainSpainPublicly listed$896M$218M$2B3.3x

Budbee Public Comps

Budbee is no longer listed, but its public comps include TBO.com, HBX Group, Izumi Co, Liquidity Services, Upwork, Indiamart, Ocado Group, AUCNET, almeera and Jahez.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
TBO.com$262M$41M6.7x5.2x43.2x34.3x
HBX Group$896M$218M3.0x3.3x12.4x5.7x
Izumi Co$3.7B$300M0.6x0.6x6.9x6.8x
Liquidity Services$477M$45M2.4x2.4x24.9x14.4x
Upwork$788M$180M1.0x1.1x4.6x3.6x
Indiamart$164M$70M4.2x4.1x9.9x11.9x
Ocado Group$1.9B$135M2.0x1.8x27.3x8.0x
AUCNET$412M$63M1.4x1.3x9.3x7.5x

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Common questions about Budbee

When was Budbee founded?Budbee was founded in 2013.
Where is Budbee headquartered?Budbee is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
Is Budbee publicly listed?No, Budbee was acquired by Instabox in September 2022.
Who acquired Budbee?Budbee was acquired by Instabox in September 2022.
How much was Budbee acquired for?Budbee was acquired for $1.7B in September 2022, a 19.8x revenue multiple.
What is Budbee's valuation?Budbee was last valued at $805M in its undisclosed-stage round in May 2022.
How much funding has Budbee raised?Budbee has raised $154M across 8 funding rounds.
What was Budbee's last funding round?Budbee's last funding round was a $40M undisclosed-stage round in May 2022.
Who are Budbee's investors?Budbee's investors include Kinnevik, H&M Group Ventures, CNI Nordic 5, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, David Frykman, Daniel Pilotti, Karl-Johan Persson, Paul Fishbein, Hampus Jakobsson, AMF and 4 others.
What is Budbee's revenue?Budbee's latest recorded revenue is $92M (May 2022).
What is Budbee's revenue multiple?Budbee's latest valuation implies a 8.8x revenue multiple ($805M valuation on $92M of revenue).
Which companies are comparable to Budbee?Companies comparable to Budbee include Choco, AppDirect, Olist, Ankorstore, TBO.com and HBX Group.
How many companies has Budbee acquired?Budbee has acquired 1 company, including Instabox.

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