Walmart announced that it agreed with VIZIO to acquire the company for approximately $2.3 billion. The retail giant reported that the purchase would facilitate the accelerated growth of Walmart Connect through VIZIO’s SmartCast Operating System.
It will also create new opportunities to help advertisers connect with customers, providing brands with differentiated and compelling opportunities to engage at scale and get more impact from their ad spend with Walmart.
The acquisition would also create new opportunities to help advertisers connect with customers, empowering brands with differentiated and compelling opportunities to engage at scale and to realize greater impact from their advertising spend with Walmart.
The combination would further accelerate Walmart’s media business in the U.S., Walmart Connect, bringing together VIZIO’s advertising solutions business with Walmart’s reach and capabilities. The growth of connected TV platforms and Walmart’s industry-leading TV panel sales would further strengthen these benefits.
“There is a lot to be excited about with this acquisition,” said Seth Dallaire, executive vice president and chief revenue officer at Walmart U.S.
“We believe VIZIO’s customer-centric operating system provides great viewing experiences at attractive price points. We also believe it enables a profitable advertising business that is rapidly scaling. Our media business, Walmart Connect, is helping brands create meaningful connections with the millions of customers who shop with us each week. We believe combining these two businesses would be impactful as we redefine the intersection of retail and entertainment,” Dallaire added.
Related Article: Walmart Plans Aggressive Five-Year Growth
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Orange County, California, VIZIO’s mission has been to deliver immersive entertainment and innovative connected home devices to consumers at great value.
In recent years, VIZIO’s growing device ecosystem and Smart TV operating system, SmartCast, have amassed over 18 million active accounts, increasing approximately 400 percent since 2018.
VIZIO has built this customer-centric platform on its devices, enabling users to stream content for free by watching ads. Building on this foundation, VIZIO created an advertising business that has continued to grow while allowing marketers to reach consumers at scale. Its platform has over 500 direct advertiser relationships, including many Fortune 500.
“We believe this is the ideal next chapter in VIZIO’s history. By bringing our capabilities and resources together, we’ll drive innovation and create even more value for our customers,” said William Wang, chief executive officer of VIZIO.
Walmart Connect, the retailer’s closed-loop omnichannel media business, grew 30 percent for fiscal year 2024. The business offers Walmart suppliers and sellers attractive opportunities to reach their desired customers no matter where, how, and when they shop.
The retail company said it continues to innovate to bring to life distinct omnichannel solutions for advertisers of all sizes and accelerate shared growth.