Wal-Mart says it will buy minority stake in online unit. Watch out competitors!

Reuters reported that Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, said on Monday it is acquiring all the minority interest in Walmart.com, in an effort to integrate both Internet and offline operations.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said it expects the acquisition and the resulting reorganization to result in a charge for the quarter ending July 31, 2001, of about one cent per share.

Wal-Mart's said its previous guidance that the company is comfortable with analysts' current estimates of 37 cents per share applies to earnings before the consideration of the charge relating to the reorganization.