Walmart to acquire Vizio TV maker in $2.3 billion deal

Walmart is planning to acquire TV maker Vizio in a deal valued at approximately $2.3 billion. Rumors of the deal emerged last week, and now the retail giant says the acquisition is official and part of a move to boost its ad business.

“The acquisition of Vizio and its SmartCast Operating System (OS) would enable Walmart to connect with and serve its customers in new ways including innovative television and in-home entertainment and media experiences,” says Walmart in a press release. “It 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.”

Walmart already has an existing Onn in-house brand of TVs, but owning Vizio will help the retailer better compete with affordable smart TVs from the likes of Amazon and Roku. Walmart previously partnered with Innovid last year to run personalized ads on TVs, and also previously partnered with Roku for “shoppable ads” that let consumer buy Walmart goods directly from their TVs.