Walmart Reportedly in Talks to Acquire Vizio TV Maker

Walmart Inc. is reportedly in talks to buy Vizio, an American company that designs, makes, and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, and advertising. Citing people who are familiar with the matter, the retail giant may acquire the TV maker for more than $2 billion.

As per Bloomberg, Walmart and Vizio’s talks on a buyout deal are ongoing however there is still a chance that the negotiations may end up to nothing. As the discussions are in the early stage nothing could be confirmed yet and the merger may not even materialize if the companies fail to agree on terms.

How Walmart May Benefit from the Acquisition

Walmart has a lot to gain from the acquisition of Vizio. For one, the company’s profitable ads unit will benefit from the deal since it has been building this division up to go beyond its core business of retailing. Walmart may use Vizio’s smart television sets to create more direct engagements with consumers while also delivering personalized ads to them.

Moreover, if the deal pushes through, it will put Walmart in a better position to compete with Roku and Amazon in the battle for affordable smart TVs. Most importantly, the company will have access to customer data that was collected by Vizio’s smart TV platform.

Surge in Shares

Yahoo Finance reported that shares of Vizio immediately soared after the news of a possible acquisition by Walmart. It was said that its shares increased by 25% at the close of trading at the NYSE, with the gains continuing to after-hours trading.

In addition, the surge brought Vizio’s market capitalization to around $1.9 billion. On the other hand, Walmart’s stock prices dipped by less than 1%. Finally, if Walmart successfully acquires Vizio, this would be its largest purchase in recent years.

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