Amid a baby food scarcity in the world’s biggest economy, shares of Bubs Australia surged on Thursday after the firm inked an agreement to provide its newborn formula products to retail giant Walmart (NYSE:WMT).
Walmart plans to purchase a shipment of six Bubs Infant Formula and two Aussie Bubs Toddler Formula products, which will be delivered to approximately 800 Walmart stores in the United States, according to Bubs Australia. The new supply will supplement the company’s existing online product sales on Walmart.com.
In early trading, shares of Bubs Australia jumped as high as 10.6 percent to A$0.625, valuing the firm at around A$383 million ($268.94 million).
“The inclusion of Walmart will extend our brick-and-mortar presence in the United States to about 4,800 locations across 35 states in the coming days and weeks,” said Chief Executive Officer Kristin Carr.
Kroger (NYSE:KR) and Albertsons purchased the first Bubs Australia consignment for their 4,800-store reach.
Bubs Australia has inked a contract with the U.S. government to provide more than a million tins of infant formula to assist alleviate the country’s baby food shortage.
Consumer complaints about newborns developing bacterial illnesses prompted Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) to recall dozens of its products in February, sparking the crisis.
