Walmart to buy Jet.com for $3bn
Walmart has agreed to buy the e-commerce company Jet.com for $3bn in cash. There will also be an additional $300m of Walmart shares that will be paid over time as part of the transaction.
The move is seen as part of Walmart’s strategy to compete with the online might of Amazon.com.
In an official statement issued today (8 August) Walmart said: “The acquisition will build on and complement the significant foundation already in place to serve customers across the Walmart app, site and stores and position the company for even faster e-commerce growth in the future by expanding customer reach and adding new capabilities.”
Doug McMillon, the president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, said: “We’re looking for ways to lower prices, broaden our assortment and offer the simplest, easiest shopping experience because that’s what our customers want.
“We believe the acquisition of Jet accelerates our progress across these priorities. Walmart.com will grow faster, the seamless shopping experience we’re pursuing will happen quicker, and we’ll enable the Jet brand to be even more successful in a shorter period of time.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of this year. The plan is for Walmart and Jet to keep their own distinct brands, “with Walmart.com focusing on delivering the company’s Everyday Low Price strategy, while Jet will continue to provide a unique and differentiated customer experience with curated assortment”.
Jet.com has only been live for a little over a year but – according to Walmart – it has already built up a “growing customer base of urban and millennial customers with more than 400,000 new shoppers added monthly and an average of 25,000 daily processed orders”.
Jet co-founder and CEO Marc Lore commented: “The combination of Walmart’s retail expertise, purchasing scale, sourcing capabilities, distribution footprint, and digital assets – together with the team, technology and business we have built here at Jet – will allow us to deliver more value to customers.”
