Headlines

Boxed Declines Kroger Deal

Bulk e-commerce brand rejects $400 million buyout

Published

6 years ago

March 12, 2018

kmpeyton

Edison, New Jersey-based online bulk goods brand Boxed has rejected The Kroger Co.’s (Cincinnati) acquisition offer in favor of a new round of fundraising to remain private.

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, the deal was denied for two reasons: Boxed was previously valuated at $470 million and was reportedly seeking $500 million or more; and Kroger was in competition with other retailers seeking similar bulk goods e-commerce assets, including Amazon.com Inc. (Seattle), Target Corp. (Minneapolis) and Costco Wholesale Corp. (Issaquah, Wash.), however Kroger was the only one to make an official offer.

The grocer has also been in talks recently with Overstock.com (Midvale, Utah) and Alibaba (Hangzhou, China) to expand its e-commerce offerings and compete with Amazon’s recent purchase of Whole Foods Market (Austin, Texas).

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