Walmart has agreed to purchase Jet.com for $3 billion, plus $300 million in Walmart shares, in a deal announced today.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close at the end of the year.
Walmart’s purchase of its former competitor will be the most expensive purchase of an e-commerce site in U.S. history.
The move comes as both Jet.com and Walmart have been struggling to keep up with their greatest competitor, Amazon.
Jet.com launched last year and aims to attract customers through innovative tactics, such as their “smart cart” feature, which allows consumers to save money by adding more items to their cart. It also offers free 2-day shipping on many household items.
Jet and Walmart will remain two distinct brands, though Jet CEO Marc Lore will remain with Walmart to manage their U.S. e-commerce operations, according to reports that have not been confirmed by either company.
Marc Lore is also the founder of Quidsi, which included Diapers.com, Wag.com, and Soap.com. Quidsi was later sold to Amazon for $545 million.
In a statement, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said, “We believe the acquisition of Jet accelerates our progress… Walmart.com will grow faster… we’ll enable the Jet brand to be even more successful… Our customers will win.”
Walmart plans to work with Jet to “leverage innovative technology solutions from both companies to develop new offerings to help customers save time and money.”
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