Startups

Walmart bought Jet.com for $3.3 billion

No word yet from the University City-based MentorTech Ventures, which invested at least $8 million in the retail site.

Jet.com on launch day, June 2015. (Photo via Facebook)

The cat is out of the bag on that rumored acquisition of Hoboken, N.J.-based ecommerce site Jet.com by Walmart.
The retail giant broke its silence on Monday to say it had acquired the company for $3 billion in cash and some $300 million in Walmart stock, both to be doled out over time.
https://twitter.com/Jet/status/762653677366677504
As part of the deal, Jet.com and Walmart.com will remain separate, in a move billed as a play for millennial purchasing power. “The acquisition of Jet will infuse Walmart with fresh ideas and expertise, as well as an attractive brand with proven appeal,” the company said in a press release.
The Wall Street Journal also reports that Penn grad Marc Lore — founder of Jet.com and no stranger to big exits will take on senior leadership position at Walmart’s ecommerce division.
So what’s the Philly angle? Well, Jet.com was the recipient of MentorTech Ventures’ biggest investment ever: a $5.5 million special purpose vehicle (yes, it sounds cool, but it’s really just a side fund) raised in 2015.
The University City-based firm — which provides funding for Penn alumni-founded startups  also joined a previous investment round, bringing MentorTech’s stake in Jet up to at least $8 million. It’s not clear if the venture firm made any further investments in the ecommerce site.
Brett Topche, managing partner at MentorTech Ventures, declined to comment on what this exit means for the fund, and the kind of returns that Philly-area tech investors can expect.

Companies: MentorTech Ventures / Walmart
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