Boxed Wholesale rejected a $400 million acquisition offer from Kroger. The company is choosing to pursue a new funding round to remain private. The rejection puts Boxed back on the original path set out by Chief Executive Officer Chieh Huang, who has said he wants to remain independent and eventually go public.
Boxed was also in talks with Amazon, Target and Costco, but Kroger was the only company to submit a bid.
Boxed offers a limited online selection of household products in bulk sizes that doesn't include a membership fee. Interest in Boxed intensified when Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. But competing with Amazon to sell household goods shows difficulty. Boxed has seen its fastest growth as a snack-and-supplies replenishment service for offices, a market Amazon is also targeting.
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