Walmart nears US$2b deal for smart TV maker Vizio
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The news: Walmart is in talks to buy smart television manufacturer Vizio for more than USD2 billion ($3.1 billion), the Wall Street Journal reported.
The numbers: Early last year Walmart said it earned around USD2.7 billion in global advertising revenue for the previous 12 months. The company reports full-year earnings next week.
Vizio, founded in 2002 by CEO William Wang, priced its initial public offering in 2021 at USD21 and shares opened trading at USD17.50. Vizio’s stock closed Monday trading at less than USD8 a share. Vizio is set to report fourth-quarter earnings on 27 February.
The context: Vizio is historically the largest TV brand sold at Walmart by sales, while the retailer is Vizio's largest customer. The deal, which is yet to be finalised, is expected to provide Walmart with more places to sell advertising and pitch shoppers on goods.
While Walmart gets most of its US revenue from grocery sales, the company sees its advertising division Walmart Connect as a track to larger profits. The acquisition would give Walmart access to a TV operating system, and control over vast massive amounts of proprietary data, along with data on what people are buying.
The source: Wall Street Journal
