Swedish law firms Cederquist and Mannheimer Swartling have advised on the combination of Stockholm-based last-mile delivery startups Budbee and Instabox in a deal valued at $1.7bn. 

The combined company, dubbed Instabee, will be owned by the founders of both startups as well as Swedish investment giant Kinnevik, which will be the largest shareholder. 

Kinnevik and Budbee were advised by Cederquist, while Instabox was advised by Mannheimer Swartling. Cederquist’s team was led by M&A partner Maja Wettergren and included partners Fredrik Lindblom, Robert Stromberg and Per Henriksson. 

Mannheimer Swartling has previously advised Instabox on various financing rounds. The company’s latest round in April saw it achieve unicorn status with $190m in investments from existing owners including Verdane, Creades and EQT Ventures. 

In a statement, Budbee and Instabox said the deal was intended to create a player with the ability to further invest in the consumer-centric and sustainable last-mile delivery services for the e-commerce sector. The two companies serve as the delivery and logistics partner for a number of large brands including Swedish clothing giant H&M and together cover Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.  

Upon closing, Fredrik Hamilton, Budbee’s founder, will become CEO of Instabee, while Alexis Priftis, Instabox’s founder, will become executive chairman of the board. 

Hamilton said the combination was a “perfect match” and presented “an amazing opportunity to create something truly substantial”. 

Priftis added: “Mutual respect and admiration has grown for a long time, and I’m happy that we are now getting behind the joint goal to transform the world of e-commerce shipping with our obsession with customer experience and sustainability close to heart.”