WALMART SAID TO BE IN DISCUSSIONS TO BUY BONOBOS
The world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer Wal-Mart is in advanced discussions to acquire men’s brand Bonobos, according to a report by Recode.
According to Recode and its sources, the two companies have agreed on a price — which couldn’t immediately be learned — and that the deal is in its final due diligence stages.
The deal would mark at least the fourth e-commerce acquisition by Walmart digital chief Marc Lore since Walmart acquired his company Jet.com seven months ago. Those include women’s online retailer ModCloth, outdoor gear seller MooseJaw and online shoe site ShoeBuy. Lore also bought online furniture retailer Hayneedle while Jet.com was still independent.
The largest of the Walmart deals under Lore was $70 million, but sources say Bonobos will go for more than that. The company has between $100 million and $150 million in annual revenue and is in better financial shape than ModCloth, which sold for less than one times its revenue. Bonobos was valued at $300 million, according to PitchBook, when it raised $55 million in 2014.
Bonobos was founded in 2007 by CEO Andy Dunn and Brian Spaly as an e-commerce shop selling dress pants designed to fit athletic men. Since then, the company has expanded into dress shirts, suits and outerwear, and started to sell through Nordstrom, which is an investor, in addition to its own website.
