APRN - Blue Apron Is Trying to Sell Itself for a Tiny Fraction of Its Private Valuation
An influx of capital into the private markets in recent years has reshaped the investing world, for both public and private investors alike. With ample sources of capital, companies are staying private longer while fetching bubbly valuations in pursuit of unicorn status. That also means that for successful companies that end up going public, venture capitalists and other private investors are able to capture relatively more of that underlying value creation. For the unsuccessful companies that may have been overhyped, public investors can be left holding the bag.
Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) may have just become the poster child of that latter phenomenon.
Image source: Blue Apron.