UPDATE 1-Vizio says Walmart to refile antitrust review application for merger
(Adds details from release and on merger)
March 27 (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Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, Walmart's Hart-Scott-Rodino notification and report form was withdrawn effective as of March 27 and it expects to refile on March 29, Vizio said on Wednesday.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)
