Wal-Mart may buy e-commerce startup Jet.com — a move that could help the brick-and-mortar giant up its online game and better compete with rival Amazon.
The two companies are discussing an acquisition, anonymous people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The dollar value of the deal hasn’t been disclosed, but a source told The Journal that Jet could be valued at up to $3 billion.
The potential deal, which would represent a marriage between the old retail guard and the new, comes as Wal-Mart is working on its online presence, and after CEO Doug McMillon admitted that the company’s e-commerce growth has been too slow. Wal-Mart’s online business grew by 7 percent in the first quarter of this year, with growth falling for the fourth straight quarter, according to filings reported by Fortune.
Jet could help. Acquiring the startup would give Wal-Mart access to a crack e-commerce team, Jet warehouses and relationships with plenty of merchants that do business online, Recode reported.
Jet, based in New Jersey and co-founded by Marc Lore — previously of Diapers.com — has raised $570 million since 2014 from investors including Fidelity Investments, Bain Capital Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank, according to CrunchBase data. CB Insights last valued the startup at $1.5 billion.
Photo: Jet.com employees. (Jet)
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