Meal kit company Blue Apron to be acquired by Wonder Group for $103m
Blue Apron, a trailblazer in the US meal kit industry, has announced its impending acquisition by Wonder Group, a company founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore, aimed at revolutionizing at-home dining and food delivery.
Per the merger agreement, unanimously endorsed by Blue Apron’s Board of Directors, the company’s shareholders will receive $13 in cash per share of Class A common stock via a tender offer, signifying an equity value of approximately $103 million. This per-share price offers a remarkable 137% premium over the September 28, 2023 closing price and an impressive 77% premium over the 30-day volume weighted average price of the Company’s Class A common stock.
Wonder Group’s acquisition of Blue Apron is set to establish a prominent mealtime platform, amplifying mealtime experiences with choice, flexibility, and convenience through two exceptional brands. The collaboration is poised to bolster both companies’ capacity to deliver chef-curated meals featuring high-quality ingredients to a wider national audience, catering to additional meal occasions throughout the week. After the transaction’s completion, Wonder Group intends to continue Blue Apron’s current nationwide operations under the Blue Apron brand, anticipating new synergies between consumer-facing apps and delivery logistics.
Linda Findley, President and CEO of Blue Apron, expressed, “By joining forces with Wonder, we continue to realize our vision of Better Living Through Better Food, and support how families and loved ones come together over food. Wonder and Blue Apron deliver high-quality, chef-curated meals, making this a great match to offer more incredible mealtime experiences. 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.”
Meal kit company Blue Apron to be acquired by Wonder Group for $103m. Photo courtesy of Business Wire.
Marc Lore, Founder and CEO of Wonder Group, commented, “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. 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. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Blue Apron to the Wonder platform and look forward to working with Linda and her exceptional team.”
The transaction, anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, is subject to customary closing conditions, including majority tendering of Blue Apron’s Class A common stock shares. It does not hinge on financing or regulatory approvals, as Wonder has already secured adequate financing to fund the transaction. The Company’s Board of Directors has unanimously recommended that Blue Apron’s stockholders participate in the tender offer.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as the exclusive financial advisor, while Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP is serving as legal counsel to Blue Apron. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is the exclusive financial advisor, and Fenwick & West LLP is the legal counsel to Wonder Group.