Blue Apron Gets a Buyout Premium, But First It Had to Lose 99%

Blue Apron Holdings Inc.’s buyout offer is more than double its market value. So why does it feel like a fire sale?

Wonder Group, a startup backed by entrepreneur Marc Lore, offered $13 per share for Blue Apron, a 137% premium to its closing price prior to Friday’s announcement. That valued the meal-kit delivery company at approximately $103 million, a far cry from its nearly $2 billion market value when it went public six years ago as one of the most prominent IPO unicorns of the era.

The Wonder Group deal is expected to close ...