Walmart in reported $1.4 billion deal to acquire connected TV ad platform
Walmart is expanding its presence in the connected TV advertising space.
The discount giant has entered into an agreement to purchase France's Vibe.co, a self-serve connected TV (CTV) advertising platform that simplifies and enables advertising through connected televisions. A report by The Wall Street put the cost of the deal at $1.4 billion, which includes a $1.2 billion cash payout to Vibe.co, and approximately $180 million paid to Vibe’s top executives after the transaction closes.
The Vibe.co platform is built for small and medium-size businesses and mid-market brands. It offers self-serve campaign activation, direct supply partner integrations, proprietary advertising technology and performance-driven optimization designed to help advertisers gain access to premium connected TV inventory more efficiently.
Walmart intends to integrate the Vibe.co self-serve CTV platform into its Walmart Connect retail media network (launched in 2021 as a revamped version of the Walmart Media Group). Walmart Connect reaches audiences across high-quality video environments, including YouTube streaming video, CTV and Walmart's owned inventory on the Vizio connected TV/streaming platform, which the discounter purchased at the end of 2024 and made a wholly owned subsidiary.
Walmart expects the integration of Vibe.co to support broader adoption of CTV ad media among advertisers across Walmart Connect and the broader connected TV ecosystem, particularly among small-to-mid-sized businesses and mid-market advertisers, including Walmart’s third-party marketplace sellers.
[READ MORE: Walmart Connect streamlines connected TV ad activation]
"Walmart Connect is focused on making commerce media more accessible, more measurable and easier to activate for advertisers of all sizes," said Ryan Mayward, GM and senior VP, Walmart Connect U.S. "Vibe.co has created a purpose-built platform that simplifies streaming TV advertising, and together, we can help more businesses connect with customers across streaming environments while measuring the impact of those campaigns through Walmart’s commerce capabilities."
Following the close of the transaction, Vibe.co CEO and co-founder Arthur Querou, CTO and co-founder Franck Tetzlaff and the broader Vibe.co team are expected to join Walmart Connect. The parties expect the transaction to close by the end of fiscal year 2027. Walmart does not expect the transaction to have any impact to previous fiscal year 2027 sales and operating income growth guidance.
"Vibe.co was built as the self-serve platform for performance and e-commerce marketers to run streaming TV the way they run paid social: measurable, fast to launch, and optimized for better outcomes," said Arthur Querou, Co-Founder and CEO, Vibe.co. "Joining Walmart gives us the opportunity to accelerate that mission and bring performance TV advertising to one of the most powerful commerce media ecosystems in the market."
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Based in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. runs 10,900 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.
