E-commerce firm Boxed Inc files for bankruptcy, eyes software unit sale

(Reuters) - Boxed Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was pursuing sale of its software business, the e-commerce grocery platform said on Sunday, adding that it will also wind down its retail operations in the coming weeks.

The plan to sell Spresso, its Software-as-a-Service business, chimes with the company's announcement last month to explore options to raise capital.

"This was an incredibly difficult decision, and one that we reached only after carefully evaluating and exhausting all available options," Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Chieh Huang said in a statement.

The company intends to fund its near-term operations and cover administrative expenses through access to its cash collateral as it winds down, Boxed said.

Spresso business will be sold to first lien lenders, and customers would not face service disruptions during the process, the online platform said.

The bankruptcy filing comes weeks after Boxed said it held a majority of its cash deposits and other liquid assets in accounts at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank.

(Reporting By Jyoti Narayan; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)