Symbotic (SYM) said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Walmart's (WMT) advanced systems and robotics business for $200 million in cash at closing.
In addition, Walmart has selected Symbotic to develop, build, and deploy an advanced tool to automate Walmart's accelerated online pickup and delivery, or APD, systems at its stores using Symbotic's AI-enabled robotics platform, according to the statement.
Walmart will fund the development program and has committed to purchasing 400 APD systems over a multi-year period, if certain performance criteria are achieved, with an option for additional orders in the coming years, Symbotic said, adding Walmart will pay a total of $520 million, including $230 million at closing.
Symbotic said the acquisition, expected to close during its fiscal Q2, and the new agreements could increase its future backlog by over $5 billion. Total consideration for the acquisition includes the $200 million in cash and up to $350 million in additional payment in future periods depending on the number of APD systems ordered, the company added.
Shares of Symbotic were up more than 15% in recent premarket activity Thursday.