Vizio
en.wikipedia.org

... On July 26, 2016, Chinese electronics company LeEco announced that it would acquire Vizio for US$2 billion;[15] however, the acquisition was canceled in April 2017 after the Chinese government blocked the merger amid a larger government crackdown on major foreign acquisition by domestic Chinese firms.[16][17][18][19][20] Vizio and LeEco settled a lawsuit regarding payment of the breakup fee.[21] In 2018, Vizio launched a free streaming service called WatchFree, powered by Pluto TV, on its SmartCast platform.[22][23]

As of 2020, Vizio was the second largest seller of flat-panel display televisions in the US.[24] By March 2021, the company sold over 11 million soundbars and 80 million TVs,[25] and has more than 12 million active SmartCast accounts.[26] In March 2021, Vizio became a public company via an initial public offering.[27][28][29][30][31][25] Effective December 2021, Bill Baxter resigned as chief technology officer.[32]

In February 2024, retailer corporation Walmart announced plans to acquire VIZIO Holding Corp. for $2.3 billion. Following regulatory approval, the transaction was completed on December 3 with VIZIO Holding Corp. and Vizio, Inc. becoming wholly owned subsidiaries.[33][34][35]

The acquisition enables Walmart to "shore up its advertising business and create a more potent rival to Amazon's booming ad business."[36] By July 2025, Bloomberg News reported that Walmart was ending sales of Vizio products at Amazon.com and Best Buy as part of a larger plan to transition Vizio into a private label brand available only at Walmart or Sam's Club locations by the end of 2025.[37] ...