I've been thinking a lot about this acquisition and I think I figured it out. Jet was really not growing and it would have been hard for their backers to pony u

I've been thinking a lot about this acquisition and I think I figured it out. Jet was really not growing and it would have been hard for their backers to pony up based on those metrics. However, Jet was still at a point where they were relevant and could potentially compete with Amazon. They could have waited a 12-18 months and bought Jet for 1/6th the price but they would have lost employees and a brand that could potentially compete with Amazon. At some point brand value falls of a cliff (think MySpace, Friendster). In many ways this is hedge on Walmart's future. If they don't buy Jet it's unlikely that they build something in house. However right now, they, and Jet has a fighting chance and I guess that fave Jet more leverage in the negotiation.