Meal kit provider Blue Apron has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Wonder Group, the food delivery and takeout company founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Blue Apron stockholders will receive $13 in cash per share of Class A common stock through a tender offer, an equity value of approximately $103 million. The per-share purchase price represents a 137% premium to the September 28, 2023 closing price, and a 77% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price of the Company’s Class A common stock. The terms of the acquisition were unanimously approved by Blue Apron’s Board of Directors.
The acquisition news comes after a somewhat rocky Q2 for Blue Apron. The company reported a net revenue decrease of 14.5% compared to the same time last year, but Blue Apron also sold its operational infrastructure, valued at up to $50 million, to FreshRealm in order to become a more “asset-light business.” CEO Linda Findley noted in a release that the company was confident it had “sufficient capital from operations to achieve our adjusted EBITDA profitability goal and to continue to move the business forward following the FreshRealm transaction.” By adding Blue Apron to its portfolio, Wonder is aiming to create a robust platform that “enhances mealtime with choice, flexibility and convenience,” according to a company announcement. Wonder plans to continue Blue Apron’s current operations under its brand name, but plans to implement new synergies between consumer-facing apps and delivery logistics.
“Wonder is creating the mealtime super app, serving a broad range of occasions that feature cuisines from some of the world’s best chefs and restaurants while leveraging our culinary engineering and vertically integrated model,” said Marc Lore, Wonder Group Founder and CEO in a statement. “At-home meals play a key role in this vision and have been on our strategic roadmap since the beginning. 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.”
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP is acting as legal counsel to Blue Apron. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Fenwick & West LLP is acting as legal counsel to Wonder.
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