According to Reuters, Boxed, an American online and mobile membership-free wholesale retailer that offers direct delivery of bulk-sized packages, announced that it will go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (often referred to as a SPAC), Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp. The valuation of the combined firm is around $900 million.
The transaction is expected to provide Boxed with about $334 million in net cash proceeds, including a $120 million private investment from investors such as Brigade Capital Management, Avanda Investment Management and Onex Credit.
The transaction is projected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Upon closing of the merger, the combined company will be called Boxed Inc. and is expected to be listed in the U.S. under a new ticker symbol. The new entity will be led by Boxed’s co-founder and current chief executive officer, Chieh Huang, and Gary Matthews, chairman and CEO of Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp., will serve as its chairman.
“We are excited to take this important step forward to position Boxed for our next phase of growth,” stated Huang. “This transaction will allow Boxed to capitalize on the tailwinds that e-commerce businesses are experiencing. This capital will also allow us to fund B2B growth, third-party marketplace expansion and drive our unique SaaS business. We look forward to partnering with the seasoned team at Seven Oaks as we leverage their operational and public company expertise.”
Matthews commented, “Boxed is a phenomenal business that meets all of the criteria as a Seven Oaks investment. Our partnership with Boxed is consistent with our goal to deliver attractive and sustainable returns to our investors through a focus on growth companies that aspire to make a positive social impact. He continued, “Boxed is a leading e-commerce platform with significant competitive advantages and multiple opportunities to accelerate growth and drive value creation. We are confident that by supporting Chieh and the talented management team with our proven operating playbook, Boxed will continue to achieve success in a rapidly growing market.”
Boxed, which was started by Huang with Christopher Cheung, William Fong, and Jared Yaman in 2013, began by shipping out of Huang’s garage in Edison, New Jersey, before opening its first fulfillment center, also in Edison, later that year. The company now has three fulfillment centers around the country which are located in Union, NJ, Las Vegas, Nevada and Dallas, Texas and also has a support office in San Mateo, California. In 2016, it was backed by $132 million in funding by investors including GGV Capital and DST Global and in 2018, it received $111 million in series D funding from one of the largest retail chains in Japan called the Aeon Group which valued the start-up at $600 million.
Seven Oaks is a New York City-based special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of entering into a business combination with one or more businesses with the intent to focus its search on companies with strong environmental, social and governance practices or the ability to materially improve such practices. It raised $258.75 million in its initial public offering in December 2020 and its securities are listed on Nasdaq under the tickers “SVOK,” “SVOKU” and “SVOKW.”