Blue Apron priced its IPO at $10 a share - after slashing the amount it wanted to raise

Blue Apron has priced its initial public offering well below original expectations amid worries that a merger between Amazon and Whole Foods could threaten the startup's future growth.

The New York-based meal prep delivery startup has priced its IPO at $10 per share, CNBC reported.

At that price, the company could raise about $300 million, and be valued at about $1.9 billion. It will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday under the ticker APRN.

Earlier Wednesday the company announced it had slashed its expected range for the price of its IPO from $15 to $17 per share to $10 to $11 per share.

Amazon, which said earlier this month it would buy Whole Foods Market in a $13.7 billion deal, has dabbled in both food delivery, through AmazonFresh, and meal kits, which deliver fresh ingredients and recipes to subscribers.

With Amazon gaining access to Whole Foods' roughly 400-store footprint, the ecommerce juggernaut would command a distribution network dwarfing that of Blue Apron or any similar startup.

Blue Apron's high marketing costs have also been a concern for investors. Despite doubling its revenue to $795.4 million last year, the company still posted net loss of $54.9 million as it poured money into logistics and marketing.

Blue Apron was founded in 2012 by Matthew B. Salzberg, Matt Wadiak and Ilia Papas with an objective to deliver ingredients and recipes that would allow customers to prepare meals at home.

(Reuters reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Angela Moon in New York.)