Blue Apron Sold For $130 M

After a year of financial challenges that led to an overhaul of its business model, Blue Apron may have found a long term solution, announcing this morning its acquisition by Wonder Group, the privately held, vertically-integrated “Fast Fine” dining delivery services founded by Marc Lore, in deal valued at approximately $130 million.

According to a press release, the stock price offering represents a 137% premium on the company’s closing price as of yesterday Sept. 28, and a 77% premium on its 30-day volume weighted average price.

“Wonder and Blue Apron deliver high-quality, chef-curated meals, making this a great match to offer more incredible mealtime experiences,” said Linda Findley, Blue Apron president and CEO, in a press release. “The Blue Apron brand and products that our customers know and love will stay the same, with more opportunity for product expansion in the future. Further, the transaction delivers immediate and certain value for Blue Apron stockholders at a significant premium over recent trading prices.”

Blue Apron stock was trading at $5.92 per share at close of market yesterday; the company’s stock price has risen over 130% to $12.82 per share following news of its acquisition, at the time of publication. The meal kit delivery service has worked to grow the business with new offerings in the past two years, adding ready-to-eat products and expanding into breakfast.

Founded in 2012, Blue Apron went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017. The company has been navigating financial troubles over the past year due to declining consumer interest in meal kits following the pandemic and a $57 million funding commitment from its lead shareholder that never came to fruition. That led the company to transition toward an asset light model in May by selling off its operational infrastructure and entering a strategic partnership with FreshRealm, which will continue as is, a press release noted.

Wonder Group, founded by serial entrepreneur Marc Lore in 2020, operates a platform that allows consumers to place one order for meals spanning multiple, Wonder-exclusive restaurant menus that are then delivered direct-to-consumer. The platform features restaurant meals from chefs including Bobby Flay, Jose Andres, Nancy Silverton and Michael Symon. Lore’s track record includes founding brands like Jet.com, and Quidsi, the parent company to e-commerce site Diapers.com, and previously served as CEO of Walmart Ecommerce.

Blue Apron’s board recommends that all stockholders tender their shares at the recommended $13 share price. FreshRealm, which owns approximately 16.5% Blue Apron’s outstanding Class A common stock, has agreed to sell its remaining shares and waive termination rights from its existing production and fulfillment partnership with the meal kit company.

Under its new owners, Blue Apron will continue to operate under its existing brand with its existing team, while Wonder believes it can harness synergies between the two companies’ consumer-facing apps and delivery logistics.

“At-home meals play a key role in [our] vision and have been on our strategic roadmap since the beginning,” said Marc Lore, Wonder Group founder and CEO. “When the opportunity presented itself to unite with Blue Apron, pioneers in the meal kit industry, we knew it would accelerate our strategic position, create immediate opportunities for synergy and most importantly, enable us to further delight customers by expanding the ways you can access and experience Wonder.”

The meal kit delivery space has seen quite a bit of consolidation in recent years. HelloFresh, the current meal kit category leader, acquired Factor75 (now Factor) in 2020 and GreenChef back in 2018, citing operational gains including additional production and distribution facilities as a motive both times.

Elsewhere in the space, Martha Stewart’s meal kit delivery service MarleySpoon bought up Australia-based Chefgood in late 2021 in order to expand into ready-to-heat products. Home Chef, which Kroger acquired in 2018, has tapped its parent company’s grocery resources to support expansion, including opening a new production and distribution facility and launching new DTC meal brand Tempo.

Note: This story has been updated.