Steam cleaners, a major brand, are a staple of Walmart stores.
But they’re also a hot commodity, and some competitors have been targeting the cleaning business.
Walmart has been in talks with a company called Cleaners Direct about buying the entire business.
In a press release, Walmart says it will spend $150 million on the cleaning division and “acquire a controlling interest in the business.”
The deal would be in addition to a $10 million investment by Walmart and its affiliates in Green Bay, Wis., earlier this year.
The move would also give Walmarts customers the option to buy the company’s cleaning service separately, according to the press release.
But the acquisition will not be completed before January 1, 2020.
Walmart says it plans to hire an additional 4,000 people in Wisconsin and plans to spend $7.6 billion on its business over the next 10 years.
“We have an extremely strong and innovative product pipeline,” said Bill Schaeffer, chief financial officer of Walmart.
“The partnership with Cleaners will allow us to bring that to our customers and give them more choices in our marketplace.”
Walmarts has been an outspoken proponent of cleaner products, especially after the company faced a backlash over its Clean Cleaning for Life brand.
The Cleaners business is the companys only full-time cleaning business, according to a company spokesperson.
But the company says it’s not going away.
“We are excited to add to our existing Cleaning product portfolio and strengthen our commitment to quality products and service,” the company said.
More: In addition to the $150m investment, Walmart has pledged $100 million to its Green Bay-based Cleaners program, which will include a $7 million loan to Green Bay businesses and $100,000 for Green Bay customers.
Green Bay is a hot market for cleaning services, with about 70,000 stores across the state.
Green Bay Mayor John Coughlin said he is “very confident” the company will find a buyer for the business.
It will be up to the Wisconsin Legislature to decide what to do with the Green Bay franchise, and the company has until the end of March to come up with a plan for the operation of the Green Bank store.