Walmart Eyeing Deal to Buy Vizio for More Than $2 Billion: Report
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor Retail giant Walmart is in talks to acquire Vizio, which sells a popular line of value-priced smart TVs that include an ad-supported free streaming service, in a deal worth more than $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The deal, if completed, could make Walmart a significant player in the connected-TV advertising business, competing with the likes of Roku, Amazon and Google/YouTube.
Walmart and Vizio have declined to comment on the Journal report. Shares of Vizio zoomed up 25% on the report Tuesday, to $9.75/share, pushing the company’s market cap to over $1.9 billion.
The stock price of Roku — a competitor to Vizio in the ad-supported streaming market — fell 8.8%. Walmart is a leading seller of low-end retail sales for connected TVs, including its own private-label brand Onn TV, which is powered by Roku’s operating system. “Logically, a purchase of Vizio would allow Walmart to prioritize their products over competing low-end sets” like those from TCL or Hisense,” MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson wrote in a research note.
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