Walmart Increases Stake in Yihaodian to 51%

Walmart

announced today the completion of its increased investment in the holding company of Yihaodian, a fast-growing e-commerce business in China, bringing Walmart's total ownership stake to approximately 51 percent. Walmart's additional investment will help Yihaodian continue its growth, and better positions Walmart to serve Chinese customers through e-commerce.  Launched in July 2008, Yihaodian has been growing at a rapid pace together with the e-commerce market of China, which is expected to be nearly as large as the U.S. e-commerce market in 2016. Yihaodian already has 24 million registered users, and offers same-day delivery to customers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, and next-day delivery to customers in over 100 cities in China. Neil Ashe, President and CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce, said, "We are excited to complete this investment and to further deliver on Walmart's mission to help customers in China save money and live better. China represents a very important part of Walmart's global investment in e-commerce, and we appreciate the strong support and cooperation we received from the Chinese government.  This investment demonstrates we are committed to the development of e-commerce in China and bringing the best possible shopping experience to Chinese