A post shared on Facebook claims the Walton family has sold Walmart to a group of Chinese investors for $535 billion.

Verdict: False

There is no record of Walmart being sold to a group of Chinese investors. The claim appears to stem from a satirical website.

Fact Check:

The post claims there was an announcement on Jan. 30 that Walmart was being sold to the Chine Investment Group led by CEO Bao Chang for “a world record $535 billion USD.” The post further claims the name of the store will be changed to “China-Direct.”

“Today there are over 11,000 Walmart stores located throughout 27 countries, with the number growing every year since the company was founded. Chang insists that the name change will not affect those who shop at the store, though,” the post reads.

Walmart is a publicly traded company, and about half of Walmart’s stocks are owned by the heirs of Walmart founders Sam and James Walton, according to Forbes. There is no evidence the “sale” has taken place. (RELATED: Does Nancy Pelosi Own Stock In Dominion Voting Systems?)

Had such a large company like Walmart been sold to a group of investors, major media outlets would have certainly reported on it, yet none have done so. No such sale is mentioned in SEC records, on the Walmart website or in any of its social media posts either.

The text in the Facebook post lifts nearly word-for-word from a January 2015 article published on the website Empire News, a website that describes itself as for “entertainment purposes only.”

“Our website and social media content uses only fictional names, except in cases of public figure and celebrity parody or satirization,” the website states.”Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.”