Walmart completes $2.3 billion acquisition of VIZIO
Walmart has closed on its $2.3 billion acquisition of VIZIO which equaled $11.50 cash per share for the outstanding stock. The deal includes VIZIO and its SmartCast Operating System that will allow Walmart and advertisers to connect with customers at scale.
Walmart said as a result of the completion of the transaction, VIZIO has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart, and VIZIO’s Class A common stock will no longer be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange, which is expected to take effect as of the close of market on Tuesday (Dec. 3). VIZIO’s business will be reported as part of the Walmart U.S. segment going forward.
In recent years, VIZIO’s growing device ecosystem and its SmartCast system have amassed more than 19 million active accounts, growing approximately 400% since 2018. VIZIO has built the customer-centric platform on its devices enabling users to stream content for free by watching ads, the release states.
Walmart said its closed-loop advertising business known as Walmart Connect and VIZIO will continue to operate separately for the foreseeable future. William Wang will continue to lead VIZIO as CEO, according to Walmart.
Walmart said it expects the transaction to be slightly dilutive to earnings per share in the fourth quarter which will be reported in early February. The retail giant said it’s using cash and some debt to finance the deal and expects the rate of return to be ahead of the company’s reported return on investment.