Kurly said on the 2nd that it will acquire the remaining shares of Next Kitchen, an affiliate focused on planning and developing home meal replacement (HMR) and restaurant meal replacement (RMR) products. The small-scale share exchange will involve Kurly issuing 334,926 new common shares at a ratio of approximately 6.6 Kurly shares for each Next Kitchen share. Kurly currently owns 46.4% of Next Kitchen and will acquire the remaining 53.6%, with the transaction scheduled to close on Dec. 7. Next Kitchen will then become a wholly owned subsidiary. The company was formed through the merger of Collins Green, founded by Jung Seung-bin, and Central Kitchen, a Kurly meal-kit supplier, and has been a key partner in developing Kurly’s private-label meal kits. Kurly said integration will bring meal-kit planning, development and distribution under one operation, improving quality and supporting K-food exports, including to the United States. Jung, the husband of Kurly CEO Kim Seul-ah and Next Kitchen’s founder, will step down as chief executive. Choi Jae-hoon, Kurly’s Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, will become Next Kitchen’s new CEO. Kurly also said it will reorganize governance and operating systems to improve management transparency. The move comes as Kurly prepares to reattempt an initial public offering after recording its first annual operating profit since founding, although the company said the incorporation is separate from the IPO.