Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) has agreed to acquire online men’s clothing retailer Bonobos for $310 million in cash, the next step in Walmart’s ongoing plan to build out its ecommerce efforts through acquisition. The deal follows the company’s purchases earlier this year of footwear company ShoeBuy and ModCloth, a retailer of women’s clothing and accessories focused on online sales. The latter company is also similar to Bonobos in that both are known for selling trendy, upscale fashion to millennials.
In a blog post, Bonobos founder and CEO Andy Dunn acknowledged that the deal may be at odds with the company’s independent reputation. “Selling to Walmart. Really?” he wrote. But Dunn then went on to say the sale is necessary for his company to scale, pointing to ModCloth and Jet as examples. “With our model proven, we now want to become the market leader in all premium menswear,” he wrote.
Here’s a history of Bonobos’ VC funding, with a spotlight on key investors set to exit with the sale:
For more on Bonobos, check out its free profile.
Article by PitchBook
