(Reuters) -Walmart has notified two U.S. antitrust agencies it will withdraw and refile a certain review application for its planned acquisition of Vizio, 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Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, Walmart’s Hart-Scott-Rodino notification and report form was withdrawn effective as of March 27 and it expects to refile on March 29, Vizio said on Wednesday.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)
