Mexico/Chile: Walmart buying Cornershop to boost presence in Latin America

Walmart has announced it is acquiring Cornershop, a leading online marketplace for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies, and specialty food retailers in Mexico and Chile.

“We are focused on making life easier for customers and associates by building strong local businesses, powered by Walmart,” Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International, said in a press release. “Cornershop’s digital expertise, technology and capabilities will strengthen our successful businesses in Mexico and Chile and provide learning for other markets in which we operate. This is an opportunity to leverage both of our brands, as well as Walmart’s strong supply chain and store network. Combining Cornershop’s innovative, crowdsourced delivery platform with Walmart’s unique assets will allow us to accelerate growth for both companies, delighting our customers by saving them both time and money. We are excited to welcome Cornershop to the Walmart family.”

Walmart will pay US$225 million for Cornershop, which has seen its number of unique users double in the past 12 months. Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected by the end of the year.

As part of the agreement, Cornershop will remain an open platform. Its three founders—CEO Oskar Hjertonsson, CTO Daniel Undurraga, and COO Juan Pablo Cuevas—will continue to lead the business, along with their teams.

This is Walmart’s latest global acquisition. In August, India’s antitrust regulator approved Walmart’s US$16 billion acquisition of online marketplace Flipkart.

In May, the retail giant announced it was acquiring about 77% of Flipkart for around US$16 billion in the biggest deal for India’s eCommerce sector.

“India is one of the most attractive retail markets in the world, given its size and growth rate, and our investment is an opportunity to partner with the company that is leading the transformation of eCommerce in the market,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement at the time.

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