Instabee valuation may have fallen by a quarter

The valuation of Stockholm last-mile delivery company Instabee has taken a sharp knock, at least in the opinion of its Swedish investor Creades.

Creades is understood by Swedish news source Digital to have slashed value by 25%, cutting Instabee to 13.5 billion Swedish krona (€1.2 billion) from 18.1 billion krona previously.

According to Creade's CEO, John Hedberg, the lower valuation is essential to reflect data from listed last-mile delivery companies. As Instabee is privately owned, listed competitors could be a useful barometer for sales and growth potential.

Hedberg currently holds 5.5% of Instabee's shareholding, Digital says. The news comes mere months after the company was formed, following last year's merger of Swedish last-mile players Instabox and Budbee. The merger itself took place at a €1.67 billion valuation suggesting Instabee probably inherited the same value, so it might just be a quick adjustment of expectations for the newly merged business.

Besides Creades, Instabee's shareholders include clothing giant H&M, Kinnevik and the founders of Instabox and Budbee, along with EQT, Verdane, AMF, Stena Sessan, CNI Nordic, and Tham Invest.