Vizio says Walmart to refile antitrust review application for merger (updated)

Vizio Holding

27/03/2024 21:15

(Adds details from release and on merger)
       March 27 (Reuters) - Walmart  WMT.N  has notified two
U.S. antitrust agencies it will withdraw and refile a certain
review application for its planned acquisition of Vizio
 VZIO.N , to give the regulators more time to review the deal.
         Following informal discussions with the Federal Trade
Commission and the Department of Justice, Walmart's
Hart-Scott-Rodino notification and report form was withdrawn
effective as of March 27 and it expects to refile on March 29,
Vizio said on Wednesday. 
  
        The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976
requires parties to report large transactions to both the
agencies for antitrust review.
  
    The law sets a 30-day waiting period for parties to close
transactions, giving the agency time to consider and block
proposed mergers before they are consummated.
    The waiting period for Walmart-Vizio will expire on Friday
unless extended by a request for additional information. Upon
renewing the filing, the waiting period will expire on April 29.
    Walmart in February proposed to buy smart-TV maker Vizio for
$11.50 per share in cash in a $2.3 billion deal, another bet on
the retailer's fast-growing U.S. advertising business, Walmart
Connect.


 (Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by
Devika Syamnath)
 ((AnanyaMariam.Rajesh@thomsonreuters.com ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnanyaMariam;))