Swedish automated parcel locker company Instabox has agreed to acquire the Norwegian last-mile delivery company Porterbuddy, to increase and improve its locker and home delivery services.
Porterbuddy launched its same-day deliveries in Norway in 2017. The company credits its success to fast and flexible deliveries that offer the option to receive multiple deliveries from different merchants at the same time. Its delivery service reaches about 60% of the population in Norway and delivers in the greater Oslo area as well as along the coast to Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim in the north, with further plans for geographical expansion within the country. Porterbuddy delivers parcels from popular merchants such as Varner, Jollyroom, Komplett and Farmasiet. Instabox’s customer portfolio includes well-known brands like blush.no, Boozt and Lyko.
The acquisition substantiates Instabox’s ongoing investment in the Norwegian market and facilitates continued growth in the region. The acquisition of Porterbuddy will support the ramp-up of home delivery services in the Nordics and new markets. To expand its e-merchant base, Instabox has also acquired the online platform parcel delivery company Red je Pakketje in the Netherlands and plans to enter the German market.
Porterbuddy’s owner, Verdane, which together with Canica owns a majority stake in the business, will reinvest the entire proceeds from the transaction and double down with new capital as well, thus becoming one of Instabox’s larger shareholders.
Alexis Priftis, CEO and founder of Instabox, said, “We’ve had our eyes on Porterbuddy for a while, as one of the most innovative last-mile companies in the Nordics. I’m particularly impressed by their 4.9 out of 5.0 user rating, which means that they share our obsession with user satisfaction, as well as their home delivery tech stack, which I believe is one of the strongest out there. We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with the Porterbuddy team as we continue to expand in new markets.”
Henrik Gerner-Mathisen, CEO and founder of Porterbuddy, said, “We have been looking to strengthen our competitive edge for some time and Instabox is a great partner with complementary skills. We are impressed by the Instabox team, its market leader position in Sweden and its continued tech-based high-growth performance. The combined service offering will create a clear Nordic market leader and unique products and services to merchants and consumers in the time to come. We will continue to drive sustainability in the industry while challenging it with innovative business models, products and services.”
Christian Jebsen, a partner at Verdane, said, “We want to thank the Porterbuddy team for a fantastic journey together so far and are pleased to join the Instabox team on its journey to transform last-mile deliveries for e-commerce. With two of Europe’s most forward-leaning solutions for home delivery coming together, the Verdane team will draw on its experience from scaling more than 40 digital consumer businesses to support Instabox as it moves to provide greener and more user-friendly options.”