This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive
compensation for actions taken through them.
Home meal kits have grown in popularity over the past few years. Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN) was one of the main beneficiaries of this movement and actually came public. Other services are popular too, such as Freshly, Plated or Hello Fresh. Now Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is looking to get into the meal kit game with its most recent acquisition.
Kroger announced, late on Thursday, a merger agreement with Home Chef that will significantly accelerate the availability of its meal kits. The initial transaction price is $200 million, and future earnout payments of up to $500 million over five years are contingent on achieving certain milestones, including significant growth of in-store and online meal kit sales. The pending merger comes on the heels of Home Chef’s 150% growth in 2017, $250 million in revenue and two profitable quarters.
Home Chef currently leads the industry with the most variety among the leading meal kit companies. Home Chef’s offerings complement Kroger’s Prep+Pared offering that is currently available in more than 525 stores.
Home Chef employs roughly 1,000 employees and is headquartered in downtown Chicago. Its distribution centers reach 98% of all continental U.S. households within a two-day delivery window.
After the deal closes, Home Chef will operate as a subsidiary of Kroger, maintain its e-commerce business and assume responsibility for Kroger’s meal solutions portfolio.
Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief digital officer, commented:
Customers want convenience, simplicity and a personalized food experience. Bringing Home Chef’s innovative and exciting products and services to Kroger’s customers will help make meal planning even easier and mealtime more delicious. This merger will introduce Kroger’s 60 million shoppers to Home Chef, enhance our ship-to-home and subscription capabilities, and contribute to Restock Kroger.
Shares of Kroger closed most recently at $24.57, with a consensus analyst price target of $27.43 and a 52-week range of $19.69 to $31.45.
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.