Boxed Wholesale, a US-based bulk grocery delivery service backed by payment services firm American Express, has received a range of acquisition offers from retailers, Forbes reported on Friday.
Supermarket and multi-department store operator Kroger is reportedly one of the most likely retailers to acquire Boxed, though membership-only warehouse retailer Costco and discount store operators Target and Aldi are also expected to bid.
The initial bids are expected to be in the range of $325m to $500m, with the lower end of the scale marking a reduced price for Boxed, which raised $100m in a 2016 series C round that valued it at $470m.
Founded in 2013, Boxed runs a mobile commerce platform that lets customers buy groceries in bulk and at a discount. The discount is partially made possible by bulk purchasing but Boxed also signs exclusive deals with suppliers for certain products.
The company has also expanded into own-brand products and business-to-business services. It relies on automation in its warehouses, using its own custom-built robots that rely on light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors and batteries from carmaker Tesla.
Should multiple offers be made, Boxed may pursue an auction process. It plans to raise additional equity funding if no suitable offers are available.
American Express Ventures, the investment arm of American Express, added an undisclosed amount in May 2016 to the series C funding Boxed raised from investors including hedge fund Light Street Capital and investment firm Safa Partners four months earlier.
Boxed also received $25m in a 2015 series B round co-led by GGV Capital and DST Global that included Founders Fund, AME Cloud Ventures, Vaizra Investments, First Round Capital, Greycroft Partners and Signia Venture Partners.
Reports later in the year suggested e-commerce firm Alibaba was looking to invest up to $80m in the company, but no such investment was forthcoming.
Greycroft, First Round, Signia, Eniac Ventures, Social Starts, Box Group and assorted angel investors had provided $6.5m in series A capital for Boxed in 2014 after Eniac, Social Starts, 15 Angels and angel investor David Ko had supplied $1.1m in seed funding the previous year.